Chance
by Yohina
Summary: Ayame was excited to be in Japan, but she never expected to fall in a well and meet the golden eyed stranger. Now she couldn't leave him alone, not when he trapped her in the past. Besides, just how was she related to the Shikon no Tama? Sesshomaru X OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm starting this new Sesshomaru story. Hopefully everyone will like it. Sorry if it starts off a bit slow. Oh, since I don't really like any female characters in the real show, I made up my own heroine. I really don't like Kagome or Sango or Rin and Sesshy pairing. I also noticed that one of the characters in the show has the same name as my heroine, Ayame. I didn't mean to duplicate their names, but I only realized that their names were the same after I wrote this chapter, so now I don't want to change it anymore, so please don't get them confused!**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

**Chance**

**Chapter One**

The school was buzzing with noise on the first day of school of the second semester. Ayame pushed through the people blocking her way toward the administrator's office. She cursed when the first bell rang. She was late. She hated tardiness. If she weren't still suffering from jet lag, she wouldn't have been late. Now, all these stupid people were just hanging around and not going to their classes. And here she had thought Japanese schools were more orderly and strict.

After 5 more minutes, she finally arrived at the office, where some teachers sat behind their desk while others were empty. One of the teachers took one look at her and recognized her.

"Are you the new student?" The teacher asked.

"Yes," Ayame answered demurely. She was wearing a pair of jeans with a tank top saying WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, definitely not even close to the school uniform that she still hadn't received in the mail.

"Hi, I'm Mr. Kagayashi, your homeroom and history teacher."

"I'm Ayame Ryuzaki. I'm sorry I'm late."

The teacher flashed her a smile. "Don't worry about it. Now let's go to class."

Ayame followed Mr. Kagayashi out of the office and down the hallway. They stopped beside the classroom 2-3. "Wait here," Mr. Kagayashi told her and walked inside. Ayame waited outside and looked around. The school wasn't something special, though definitely different from the American schools, considering it contained two or three buildings each having three floors. Not to mention, she'd have to wear that stupid uniform. It wasn't as ugly as she thought, but she still preferred jeans, not skirts. Besides, she didn't particular want all the guys to stare at her legs all the time.

The door to the classroom slid open again to show her the teacher. "You can come in now."

Ayame followed Mr. Kagayashi into the classroom. The chatter stopped when the students saw her. "Everyone, this is our new student Ayame Ryuzaki. She's from America."

"Do you speak Japanese?" Some guy shouted out.

Ayame was tempted to roll her eyes. Then she replied in perfect Japanese, "Yes. I'm actually half-Japanese. My mom is Japanese and my dad's American. We just stayed overseas all these years."

"Why are you back?"

This time, Ayame smiled. "I'm helping my dad with his company." She couldn't keep the pride out of her voice. Finally, her dad had decided to trust her with something important.

Mr. Kagayashi spoke before any one could ask another question. "Please treat Ms. Ryuzaki nicely. I hope that you will get along with each other. Ms. Ryuzaki, why don't you take a seat next to Kagome?" He pointed to an empty desk beside a pretty girl with black hair.

Ayame sat down at her new desk and smiled at the girl beside her. Even though she was only staying in Japan for one semester, she still wanted to make some new friends. Besides, she was also curious about her mother's native country. She'd heard so many things about it from her mother that she wanted to experience them all on this trip.

"Hi, I'm Kagome," the girl whispered so that Mr. Kagayashi, who'd already started on the lecture, wouldn't hear.

"I'm Ayame."

"I know." The two girls shared a smile. "Is your hair really that blond?" Kagome asked.

"Oh?" She knew someone was going to ask her that. "No, it's actually brunette. I dyed it before I came here." Ayame wanted to be special in this new country. In addition, if she was going to be a foreigner, she might as well live up to her image. It was really too bad that she didn't inherit her dad's green eyes.

"Cool."

Ayame listened to the history lecture with interest. She'd never been much of a history person, but now since she was in Japan, it didn't seem that bad. In her opinion, Japanese history has way more drama than the American one.

The day went by pretty quickly. Ayame learned that school was a bit different in Japan than in America. Instead of the students moving from one classroom to another, the teachers came to the classroom. Therefore, one person only had so many classmates. Yet, this probably also encouraged a sort of pride and unity within the specific class.

Ayame waited at the school gate once school was over. She wasn't sure where to go, since her boyfriend, Rick, who'd come to Japan with her, was coming to pick her up after school. Unlike her, Rick was 18 and already out of high school. He would have gone to college if their parents hadn't given them a chance to prove themselves by allowing them to work in the Japanese branch of their companies.

"Hey, Ayame!" Ayame turned around when she heard her name and saw Kagome with several of her friends running toward her.

"Uh… hi," she greeted them. She had become sort of friends with Kagome. She really liked the outgoing and funny girl. Kagome's friends weren't that bad either.

"We're going to the movies on Friday night. Care to join us?" Kagome asked.

"Yes!" Ayame answered with so much enthusiasm that Kagome and her friends laughed. She couldn't help it. She loved to go to the movies back in America. It was one of her obsessions. Now that she was in Japan, she might as well get used to Japanese movies too.

Then, a black Corvette pulled up beside Ayame and her friends. The window of the car rolled down to show a handsome young man with dark hair. "Rick, you're late!" Ayame complained, though the car stunned Kagome and her friends.

"Sorry, sweetie. I was caught in traffic." Rick took off his sunglasses, showing his captivating emerald eyes and giving his girlfriend a sexy grin.

"Yeah right." Ayame noticed that Rick was dressed in a shirt that showed off his washboard abs and jeans and not that suit he'd left the house in. She was sure that he had gone back home and changed before coming to pick her up.

"So who are they?" Rick pointed to Kagome and Ayame's other newly made friends.

Ayame told Rick that they were her friends and made introductions. "He's Rick, my boyfriend."

"Fiancé," Rick corrected her and Ayame blushed a deep shade of scarlet.

"Fiancé? But you're only 16!" Kagome squealed.

"Well, our parents wanted us to get married soon, so we got engaged before we came back to Japan," Ayame explained. "Anyway, we have to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She got in the car.

"Yeah, and don't forget the movies!" Kagome shouted.

Ayame nodded and waved them good-bye. Rick took her to a beautiful restaurant and they ate a romantic dinner. Then, they went back to the two-story mansion Ayame's father had bought them. Ayame started doing her homework while Rick worked on other things. He had plenty to keep himself busy.

After she was finished with her homework, she took a shower and then dressed in her pajamas. She found Rick downstairs watching TV and sat down next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Ayame closed her eyes and enjoyed the simple delight of being next to him.

"I don't like this place," Rick muttered while they enjoyed a quiet moment with each other.

"Why? Japan's great, isn't it? Besides, we're alone." Ayame smiled sexily and gave him a soft kiss. Rick didn't fail to catch the implications of her words.

"Yeah, but something just doesn't feel right. I don't know what though."

"What? You're having sixth sense again?" Ayame laughed softly.

"It's just a feeing." Rick shrugged and didn't say anything more.

"It's OK, Rick. Trust me." You leaned against his shoulder and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, the school uniform arrived. Ayame was sad to give up her jeans and tank tops, but she had no other choice. She changed into the blouse and the ultra short green skirt. Though the uniform was stupid, she had to admit that she still looked fabulous in it. The short skirt would give the guys a field day. 

_Rick was right. I look good in everything_, Ayame thought. Sometimes she wished this wasn't true. It was kind of hard to have an intelligent conversation with the opposite sex when all they could think about were her boobs and legs. Not to mention, the jealousy and envy from the other girls could become such a hassle. It hadn't really made her life easier at all.

Rick dropped her off at school before he went to work. When he saw how many guys checked her out in her uniform, he gave her a passionate kiss that left Ayame's head reeling. Some of the guys took the hint while others didn't, but Ayame was glad for the PDA nonetheless.

School went by just as quickly as yesterday, though not easier. Ayame had to turn down several guys and finally decided to just avoid any possible admirers by staying in her classroom. Why did guys have to be so stupid anyway? However, she really did look forward to the movie, because not only would it provide her with relief from the constant badgering of the guys, but it would also gave her a stronger bond with her new friends. Maybe she could invite them over for a sleepover after the movie was over.

Ayame met her friends at the movie theatre at exactly 6 since they had decided to just spend the night watching random movies. She even watched some movies that had already came out in America but now just coming out in Japan.

It was about the third movie when Ayame noticed something strange. She had just come back from the restroom when she noticed Kagome, who had sat behind all of them, sneaking away from the movie theatre. Ayame quickly hid herself in the dark corner before Kagome could see her. Curious, she followed Kagome out, wondering what the girl was doing.

_This is stupid. She could just be going to the restroom,_ Ayame thought to herself. However, if Kagome was going to the restroom, why was she always scanning her surroundings as if that somebody would be following her?

Ayame was right. Kagome didn't stop to go to the restroom. Instead, she went outside the building and met with a silver haired guy. Ayame couldn't see very well because she was far away, not to mention the lighting wasn't that great either.

_Why is Kagome sneaking off with a guy? Don't tell me they are…_

Now, Ayame didn't know if she should follow them or not. If Kagome and the guy were really sneaking off to do what she thought they were doing, then she didn't want to catch them in the act. However, she couldn't force herself to go back to the theatre. Somehow, a part of her knew that this was something different.

She followed them into a dark road in the forest. She tried her best not to make any sounds and lost sight of the couple several times. However, after about 15 minutes or so, she emerged from the trees into an old Japanese temple of sorts and kept on following Kagome until she saw the two of them going into a small shrine-like room.

_Maybe this was their destination in the first place._ Ayame hesitated to go in.

However, then the room flashed a bright purple. When there was no more sound coming out of it, she wondered what the hell was going on. She pushed the door open and entered the room carefully, lest Kagome and the guy were still inside. However, the room was empty except for a well in the middle.

"Kagome?" Ayame called out softly, but no one answered. _Strange. I could've sworn they came in._

There was something cold and dark about the room. And evil, if she believed in such things. It was after a few moments that she realized the feeling came from the well. _Leave. Leave now._ A voice inside her mind warned her, but to no avail. Her feet continued carrying her toward the dark and abandoned well until she was right next to it. As if drawn by an invisible hand, she leaned down and stared into it, wanting to see what was inside.

Then, suddenly, something dark shot out of the well and dragged her down. Ayame screamed as she fell, always expecting to get soaked in water with a big splash. However, there didn't seem to be an end to the fall. Finally, when she landed after what seemed like forever, she realized that she had landed on solid ground without breaking any bones. With a fall like that, she should be dead by now.

When Ayame looked around, she noticed that the inside of the well looked different. Before, at the temple, the walls were empty and devoid of anything. However, now, there were green vines climbing up toward the top of the well. Not only that, sunlight illuminated the inside of the well. _But that's impossible. The entire room was dark._

Not really knowing what was happening, Ayame grabbed one of the vines and climbed to the top quickly. Despite her average size, she was an outstanding athlete, so the climb was pretty easy. When she emerged at the top, what she saw was beautiful but also unbelievable. Everywhere around her was green except for some flowers. The temple had disappeared. Actually, civilization seemed to have disappeared. She was in a real forest.

Even though she had no idea where she was, Ayame decided to explore the place, but she always kept track of where she was going. Just in case. If she came upon a predator, she could always jump back into the well and hope that whatever happened before would happen again.

The beauty of the forest was lost to her as she analyzed what had happened. It just seemed impossible that she was here, wherever "here" was. She had been following Kagome and a silver haired guy. They'd gone into the little room with the well and disappeared. Something had pulled her toward the well and then down into it. Now, she was at god-knows-where without a clue as to how she arrived or how to go back.

Could she be dreaming? Maybe she'd fallen asleep at the theatre and was dreaming right now. It certainly felt like a dream. Ayame pinched herself. Hard. _Nah, I'm not dreaming._ She decided when pain shot up her arm.

Finally, she decided to stop analyzing everything and just enjoy the scenery. She'd grown up in the cities because of her parents' business, but she'd loved the European countryside whenever they could go to their villas in Europe. Though she could never imagine living without all the technologies and improvements of the twenty-first century, she still liked the peace and tranquility found only in nature.

Ayame walked aimlessly until she came upon a river and heard someone sobbing. Once again, curiosity got the better of her and she walked into the clearing only to see a little girl about 6 crying her eyes out. She was a pretty adorable little girl, but her hair was a mess and she was dirty.

"Is there something wrong?" Ayame bent down and asked kindly.

The girl looked up at her and was shocked, probably by her blond hair. Ayame continued to smile, knowing what the girl was thinking and not really bothered by it. After all, she'd dyed her hair and was expecting people to be surprised.

"It's OK. I won't hurt you. Now, what's wrong?" Ayame kept her voice even and gentle even though she had thousands of other questions. Like, "Where the hell am I?" But she couldn't very well ask the little girl right now.

"My… Mi'Lord, he…he's hurt… and I… I don't know… how… how to help him…" The girl sobbed.

"Oh really? Where is he? Maybe I can help him," Ayame offered. No matter where she was, she could always find something to help. Her mom had come from a very traditional Japanese family. As a little girl, she had been taught all the different healing herbs before Western medicine became the norm. When Ayame was little, she had in turn taught her daughter all she knew.

The girl shook her head furiously. "No! You can't… He…He'll kill you if you go near him!" She was very serious too.

Rather than being scared like any normal person, Ayame only became more intrigued. "He's hurt, isn't he? So how can he still be strong enough to kill me? Don't worry. He won't lay a finger on me. Now, where is he?" She was very convincing about this, so the little girl finally nodded reluctantly and pointed to the other side of the river.

Ayame carried the girl across the river, which only went up to her thighs. She learned that the girl's name was Rin, who looked kind of happy now that someone was there to help her, or rather, to help her "lord." When Ayame didn't know where she was going anymore, Rin pointed her to a wall that was covered with vines.

"It's behind the vines," the girl whispered.

Ayame pushed through the vines and saw the little dark cave inside. It was so well hidden that if Rin hadn't led her here, then she would've never found the place by herself. There was barely any light that illuminated the place, but it was bright enough that Ayame saw the unconscious silver-haired man lying on the floor.

"Is he the lord you were talking about?" Ayame asked as she put down little girl on the ground again.

"Yes," Rin sniffed.

Still as curious as ever, Ayame walked closer slowly. When she saw the man up close, she gasped. _No, it can't be! _

Staring at the "man's" features, Ayame somehow knew she was in big trouble, as in italicized, bolded, and capitalized **_TROUBLE_**.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, sry Sesshomaru's not in here, but as I said, it starts off slowly but it'll definitely get better later on, so please be patient with me. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you think! **

**Thanks a bunch!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Another chapter! Yay! Anyway, this one's definitely better than the last, since Sesshomaru actually makes an appearance. Thanks to the two readers who reviewed the last chapter!  
Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! HAPPY NEW YEARS!  
ENJOY!

* * *

**

**Chapter Two**

Why was she in trouble?

Well, first of all, the "man" she found wasn't really a man, at least not the kind she was familiar with. He had silver hair down to his waist. His face was the most handsome she had ever laid eyes upon. His facial features reminded her of one of the Classical Greek statues. Yet, he had a purple moon on his forehead, two red stripes on each of his cheeks and pointed ears. He wore something similar to a white kimono with some sort of fluffy thing around his right shoulder and strange armor on his other shoulder. She couldn't see his eyes because he was unconscious, but she had no doubt that it would be just as beautiful as the rest of him.

The man was also bleeding like a stuck pig. He was practically lying in the pool of blood. She was surprised that he wasn't dead already. Just looking at him made her dread what she'd have to tell Rin once he dies. Yet, she had to try her best. After all, she did say she could help, and she wasn't the sort to give up before the end.

Quickly, Ayame bent down and tried to find where his wounds were. Yet, as soon as she touched him, his hand grabbed her wrist harshly, causing her to wince from the pain.

His eyes opened just a bit to gaze at her with cold contempt. She realized that she was right. His eyes were a beautiful golden shade. It would've been better though if they weren't boring into her with coldness. Yet, behind the coldness Ayame saw the pain he tried hard to hide.

"Who are you?" The man's deep and sexy voice sent a shiver of awareness down her spine.

"Lord Sesshomaru, she said she could help you," Rin explained nervously.

The "man" called Sesshomaru studied Ayame for another second before releasing her wrist. "I don't need a human to help me." She noticed the way he said the word "human" and didn't like his tone one bit.

"So what if I'm a human? And what are you? A demon? I don't care what you are. I'm going to help you whether you like it or not!" Ayame yelled with rage despite that fact that she was a little scared of him. From the mark he had left on her wrist, she knew that he could hurt her easily if he wanted.

Yet, he just turned away and closed his eyes. "Do whatever you like, wench."

Ayame sighed with relief and slowly opened his top kimono to check his wounds. Sesshomaru showed no reactions, as if she wasn't touching him at all. She saw that he was hurt almost everywhere, but the biggest wound and the one that was bleeding the most was a large cut on the side of his waist.

"Look after him, Rin. I'm going to go out and get something," she murmured to Rin and then left the cave.

Outside, Ayame thought that it was just her luck to meet someone as intimidating and heartless as Sesshomaru. No, she couldn't have met someone just as beautiful but who had a great personality, a man she could actually fall in love with or get along, not that she planned on leaving Rick. But, couldn't she actually enjoy her strange adventure?

Sighing, she walked back the way she had come and searched the ground closely for any herbs she might recognize. Things would be so much easier if she had a First Aid Kit, but obviously she didn't. Not far away from the cave, she found tons of herbs that she was sure would stop Sesshomaru's wounds from bleeding and probably help block off some of the pain as well.

She gathered them quickly and washed them in the river. Then she returned to the cave as fast as possible. She asked Rin if she had a bowl. Fortunately, somehow Rin had some food utensils lying around in the corner of the cave.

Ayame crushed the herbs to small pieces while extracting their juice. When that was done, she went over to Sesshomaru and placed some over each of his wounds that were still bleeding. There was no reaction from Sesshomaru, but she knew that it must hurt like hell because she'd had some of the same experiences when she was little, though she'd never been on her deathbed before.

Sesshomaru was floating between the realm of consciousness and unconsciousness when he felt the soft and soothing touch on his skin. The pain that had enveloped him since Inuyasha's attack subsided tremendously as someone applied something cool over his injuries.

His first instinct was to strike back, but for some strange reason, the gentle touch on his skin aroused something deep inside of him. Hunger. He realized that what he felt was desire for the worthless human female. Yet, most strangely, he felt peaceful. Tranquility settled over him, a feeling he hadn't felt ever since his mother had left, leaving him alone in the world with a father who was more human than demon.

When her gentle caresses continued, Sesshomaru wanted to drag her down to him as desire flared. However, he gritted his teeth and did his best to show no reaction at all, not even opening his eyes to look at his tormentor.

Ayame smiled when Sesshomaru's body stiffened as she applied the herbs to his biggest wound. _And I thought he couldn't feel that much pain, acting all macho when he's almost dead. _

Finally, she tore off a part of his kimono (she wasn't about to destroy her new uniform) and used it as a bandage around his waist to further stop the bleeding. After she was finished with applying the herbs, it was late and another little thing holding a staff walked into the cave carrying two chickens. She saw that the thing looked like a… toad?

"Who is she?" The little guy pointed his staff at Ayame and demanded.

"It's OK, Jaken. She's here to help Lord Sesshomaru," Rin answered quickly, afraid that the toad might hurt Lord Sesshomaru's helper.

Jaken lowered his staff and sneered, "As if Sesshomaru-sama needs any help from a filthy human!"

"I'll show you a filthy human!" Ayame marched toward the little toad and wrenched the staff from his hands. She used it to whack him on the head several times until he was seeing stars. Then she kicked him just to show him who was the boss.

Then, as Sesshomaru slept on, she built a fire and cooked the two chickens, but not until Jaken cleaned them. When he almost refused, Ayame waved the staff at him menacingly. Somehow, she had the strange feeling that Jaken was more afraid of the staff than he was of her.

Taking some pans and bowls, Ayame went out to get some fresh water and made chicken soup for all of them. _All those years of camping really paid off_, she thought with a smile as she stirred the soup. Since they didn't really have many spices, the soup tasted a bit bland, but it was good enough.

When the soup was finally ready, she poured one bowl for Sesshomaru while Rin and Jaken drank theirs. Ayame was glad that Rin and Jaken seemed to enjoy the food. She guessed that they hadn't really eaten anything good lately, considering that "Lord Sesshomaru" was in such a pathetic condition.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" She muttered, sitting on the floor beside Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru's head turned so quickly that Ayame almost dropped the bowl of soup she was holding. "Don't you dare call me any names!" He snarled menacingly with his eyes glowing red.

Ayame had to take several deep breaths to calm down her racing heart. When the fear and shock finally subsided, her anger returned. "Is that how you always treat the person who saved you?"

"Nobody asked you." He glared back at her with the same expression.

"Whatever." She decided not to argue since he was hurt and suffering. Instead, she held out the bowl of soup toward him, but suddenly had no heart of feeding him. "You want it?" She asked rudely.

Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment before turning away as if she had asked something totally stupid that it didn't even deserve an answer. Ayame was furious with the way he just ignored her as if she wasn't there after she went through all the trouble of cooking for him.

Standing up, she smashed the bowl of soup against the cave wall. If she didn't know how dangerous the man still was, she would've kicked him in the back and ran like hell afterwards.

Rin and Jaken looked up, both startled by the sound. They had both been engrossed in getting seconds and never imagined that Sesshomaru would turn down the offer. Ayame simply ignored them and stormed out of the cave.

"You ungrateful bastard!" She shouted toward the cave once she was outside and kicked the stones on the ground, imagining that they were Sesshomaru. Then, she called him all sorts of names that she hoped he remembered. She was never going to help any other strangers the next time! She went through all that hard work, and what did she get? "Nobody asked you!" She mimicked Sesshomaru and was furious all over again.

_That's it! I'm going to go tell him! Who am I to let a bastard like him bully me? _

She was storming back toward the cave when she heard the bushes rustle not far away as well as voices.

"Inuyasha, I'm going to kill you if we don't stop soon!" The girl's voice, sounding somewhat familiar, rang out clearly in the quiet night. They weren't that far away.

"I'd like to see you try!" A guy's voice replied with irritation.

"Sit!" The girl shouted and suddenly, something silver popped out of the bush and hit the ground hard.

Intrigued, Ayame walked back and dragged the "thing" up only to find a boy's irritated face glaring back at her. Yet, the strange boy, who was around her age, had dog ears. They looked so cute that she couldn't help but rub them.

"Who are you?" The silver-haired boy bolted up and instantly pointed a sword at Ayame's throat.

Ayame gulped with fear and thought why everybody she met here had to be so violent and psychotic. First she found a "man" lying on his deathbed and then she get a sword sticking at her throat. She wondered what would be next. You know what they say: third time's the charm.

Then, someone else stumbled out of the bushes. Upon seeing each other, both Ayame and the other person gasped.

"Kagome?"

"Ayame?" The two of them shouted in unison.

"Ayame, how did you get here?" Kagome asked as they both sat down on the riverbank.

Ayame explained everything that had happened, about how she had followed them and fell in the well. For some reason, she left out the part about Sesshomaru. She had the strange idea that they wouldn't like to hear about the annoying and arrogant "lord" she'd saved.

"So, where on Earth am I?" She finally demanded after finishing her story.

Kagome hesitated. Clearly, it was a topic not up for discussion. Then, Kagome finally started to explain everything just before Ayame asked again.

Her eyes turned wide with shock as Kagome's explanation became more and more unbelievable. It just wasn't possible. At least not in the world she lived in.

"But I still don't understand. How could I get here? I mean… I thought you said that only someone, or some_thing_, with those shard could travel between time…" Even as Ayame spoke, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. If Rick could hear her now. The practical and serious Ayame talking about time travel.

"I don't know, but since you're here, why don't you come with us? I'm going back tomorrow, so why don't you return with me?" Kagome said cheerfully. She was relieved to have even one person knew the secret she had held on for so long.

Ayame had no choice but to accept. Then, she remembered something. "Oh, could you guys wait a moment? I have something to do. I'll be right back."

"You want Inuyasha to go with you?" Kagome suggested.

She looked at the silver-haired boy in red named Inuyasha and thought maybe that Rin and Jaken wouldn't like more strangers knowing their secret hiding place. Besides, Inuyasha was openly glowering at her, which she had no idea why, since she hadn't done anything to offend him. Or had she?

"No, I'll be fine! But… Don't you dare follow me!" Ayame warned them and took off running.

When she was sure that no one followed her, she pushed away the vines and returned to the cave. Rin and Jaken were already asleep. Obviously they didn't care very much about her safely. Not that she blamed them, since she was a stranger to them after all.

Instead of waking them up, Ayame walked over to Sesshomaru. He was actually awake and staring at the ceiling. Her eyes met his, and she cursed inside when she blushed. He didn't need to know that she was attracted to him. Yet, he was just the most handsome and beautiful man she had ever met. Not to mention he exuded sex even lying there half-dead. Pure and uninhibited sex. The guy was a god's gift to woman. Too bad he didn't have a personality to match his looks.

Ayame looked down and saw that most of his wounds have already disappeared, even the one on his waist was closing. She was shocked at how quickly his body healed. No wonder he didn't need her help. Despite the amount of blood he'd lost, he wasn't anywhere near death.

She blushed again when she noticed his muscles and washboard abs. She had to force herself not to study every other part of him as well. It was pretty easy to accomplish once she realized that he wasn't looking at her at all and was still staring at the ceiling as if she wasn't there. His "you-don't-exist-in-my-world" attitude hadn't changed at all while she was gone.

"I must go now. Take care," she whispered, not knowing why she even bothered to tell him. As far as she could tell, he didn't give a damn whether she was there or not.

She turned to leave, but before she left, he spoke, "If you dare to tell anybody about me, human, I'll kill you." His cold words sent a shiver down her spine like earlier, but for a completely different reason.

She simply nodded and left, hoping she'd never have to see him again.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Inuyasha asked impatiently when Ayame returned.

"I uh… just got some things to do," she stammered.

"Whatever. Let's go. Get on my back," Inuyasha said, which didn't make any sense to Ayame. Then she saw Kagome climbing on Inuyasha's back and motioning her to do the same.

Ayame nodded and climbed on as well. Before she knew it, Inuyasha started jumping from tree to tree in an extremely fast speed. She had to clutch on for dear life, otherwise she'd doubtless fall and break her neck. Yet, it was still a very thrilling because it made her feel as if she was on a roller coaster ride.

"So, did you meet anyone while you were here?" Kagome asked.

"Uh…no…" Ayame lied.

All of the sudden, Inuyasha stopped moving and started sniffing the air. Ayame saw that they were on top of a hill overlooking a small human village. Then, as if finding what he was looking for, he growled, "Sesshomaru!" Ayame stiffened.

"Sesshomaru? But didn't you beat him today?" Kagome inquired. Ayame wondered why Kagome sounded so angry.

Inuyasha started sniffing the ground and finally ended up around Ayame. "You've seen Sesshomaru, haven't you?" He growled menacingly. Ayame shook her head in fear.

"What… what are you talking about?" Even as she said those words, she wondered how the hell Inuyasha found out about Sesshomaru. Could he really be a dog? She turned to look at Kagome and saw that her friend was very irritated.

"Just let it go, Inuyasha. Can't you see that Ayame is already tired? Even if she did meet Sesshomaru, nothing happened. So just forget about it!" With that, Kagome pulled Ayame down the hill and into the village.

Ayame followed Kagome into one of the biggest houses in the village. She looked around and saw that there were several people inside the house.

"Kagome, why are you back?" A girl with a boomerang beside Ayame asked.

"We were already on our way, but we found Ayame in the forest." Then Kagome started to introduce her to the other people there. The girl with the boomerang was called Sango. A guy that dressed like a priest was called Miroku. Then there was this little guy with a foxtail behind him called Shippo. There was also this little adorable cat called Kirara. Even before the introductions were finished, the cat jumped at Ayame and licked her face. Now, it was nestled happily in her arms. Lastly, the owner of the house was an old woman called Kaede.

"She's from your world?" Kaede asked suspiciously.

"Yes. She came through the bone-eater well, but we don't know why," Kagome replied.

"Uh…Kagome… where can I take a bath?" Ayame interrupted. She wasn't at all concerned about anything since she was going to leave this place. Everything would just be like a dream once she returned to her world, so now she was just worried about getting cleaned.

"There's a river outside," Kagome answered kind of awkwardly.

Ayame stared at Kagome for a moment before she realized what the other girl was talking about. _You've got to be kidding me._ Yet, she didn't really care anymore since she was already dirty as hell. Kagome took her to the river and placed a blue yukata with different designs on the ground.

"We're going to wash your clothes. You can wear these once you're done." Kagome told her and gave her shampoo and soap.

Ayame quickly took a bath and got dressed just in case somebody was looking, not to mention the water was freezing. Back in the house, she stayed by the fire and listened to the others' discussions for a while. They were mainly discussing how she could've gone through the well and arrive at this world. However, to her, they all seemed to be worried about nothing, considering she was never coming back here again, though she had no idea why her heart was hurting at that prospect.

Kirara stayed with her the entire time and she stroked the adorable little cat. "You're comfy, aren't you?" Ayame murmured with an amused smile when the cat cuddled against her. Kirara simply meowed.

She tried to stay awake some more. Though she didn't really care about what Kagome and the others were discussing, it started to sound interesting when they talked about the Shikon No Tama, the jewel that Kagome was trying to find and reassemble. However, due to the long day she'd had, she fell into a deep sleep slowly, lulled by the warmth of the fire.

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you think? Please REVIEW!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews!**

**Chapter Three**

When Ayame woke up the next morning, she was the only one left in the room. She yawned, still feeling tired and stressed out from yesterday.

"You're awake." She turned and saw Kagome standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands.

"Yeah. What time is it?"

"Around nine."

Ayame got up and washed before eating breakfast with everyone else. She was vastly amused by Miroku's efforts at flattering her and trying to win her hand in marriage as well as Sango's jealous glares.

After breakfast, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and lastly Ayame left the village to go to the well that connected the feudal era to Ayame's world, the twenty-first century. On the way there, Ayame listened to more of Kagome's explanations and stories concerning the Shikon Jewel.

"Then why were you out alone last night?" Ayame asked.

"Inuyasha and I decided to leave early because Miroku was injured. He and Sango were going to catch up with us later," Kagome explained.

The walk to the well wasn't that bad since Ayame enjoyed being in the forest as long as nothing was chasing her. Soon, the well came in sight. She ran toward it, glad that she was going back home. However, abruptly, the ground under her started to shake and a gigantic monster climbed out of the crevice. She screamed in fear and the monster turned to face her. Now, she was completely cut off from the others since she had been running in the front.

"Ayame, be careful!" Kagome shouted.

_As if I need you to tell me!_

However, Ayame kept her mouth shut and jumped out of the way as the monster's claws reached out to grab her. She was suddenly glad that she had taken all those years of karate and other self-defense classes.

"Sesshomaru!" She heard Inuyasha yell as he drew out a sword, the same one he'd pointed at her throat last night. She was amazed when the sword changed from a rusty piece of crap to a thick and big one that looked as if it could cut through anything. Then she spotted something silver on the big monster's shoulder. She gasped when she saw that it was the same man she had helped yesterday.

"But how?" She didn't understand any of it.

Sesshomaru turned to look at her with the same cold golden eyes as if he had heard her speak. There was no recognition in there, not that she expected any. She could have no idea that Sesshomaru did recognize her, but he was too disciplined to let any of his emotions show on the surface. Her presence unsettled him, but he turned away nonetheless when Inuyasha attacked. He jumped into the air and suddenly a yellow whip appeared in his hands, deflecting Inuyasha. Even then, he was trying his best to ignore the presence of Ayame, whom he still deemed as a stupid human wretch.

To get his thoughts under order and remind himself that humans were below him, he taunted Inuyasha, "Little brother, why must you waste your time with these humans?" He acted as if he hadn't been injured at all recently, even though the worst of his wounds had only closed a few hours ago. It really made Ayame wonder if his wounds had all healed.

Inuyasha shouted back something, but Ayame couldn't hear it because Kagome was screaming as the other monster rampaged throughout the place. She also saw that Sango and Miroku were trying their best to fight it off. Then, she noticed the bow and arrows on Kagome's back and completely forgot about going back to her world for a moment.

"Kagome! Give me the bow and arrows!" She shouted because she knew she could help since she was always the best at archery whenever she took martial art classes.

"Ayame, just jump in the well!" Then, Kagome was almost hit by the demon's claw. She was sent flying and luckily, her bow and arrows landed right beside Ayame.

Ayame grabbed them and deliberated on whom she should help. Sesshomaru or Inuyasha? It really should be Inuyasha, considering he was Kagome's friend and therefore her friend, but she'd spent the entire day patching up Sesshomaru yesterday, so wouldn't it be a waste of time if she hurt him again, though she didn't think the puny arrow could harm Sesshomaru at all.

Then, she noticed that Sesshomaru's hand, which was glowing an eerie green, was wrapped around Inuyasha's neck. Without thinking, she took aim and shot Sesshomaru's arm. Sesshomaru was quick enough to dodge the incoming arrow, but something else made everyone stop what they were doing and just gape at her in shock.

The arrow she had fired was glowing a shiny purple color after she released it. In addition, even though Sesshomaru and Inuyasha both didn't get hit, their clothes were still torn a bit by the force of the arrow.

Ayame stood in shock and wondered what the hell had just happened. She would've decided to stay a bit longer in this place if the demon Sesshomaru had brought with him didn't decide to continue the battle. It swung its claws toward her and almost got her. She jumped away at the last minute, but instead of landing, she jumped right into the well.

When she didn't land immediately, she knew what was happening. _Oh boy, here it comes,_ she thought as the purple light enveloped her.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, Ayame finally landed and instantly knew that she was back to her own world. Yet, she was still confused by the arrow, by that light that had harmed both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Thinking about Sesshomaru, she still didn't understand what the hell was wrong with him? How could he be such a heartless bastard?

_I saved him, and he didn't even care that his demon almost crushed me into bits._ Ayame snorted and decided that if she ever see her again in the future, which was very unlikely, she would give him a piece of her mind.

She sighed at the thought and climbed out of the well. It wasn't as easy this time since there was barely anything to hold onto, only one or two rocks that jutted out from the flat wall surface. Then she noticed that she was still in the blue yukata that Kagome had given her the other night.

_Damn it! I forgot my clothes._ Ayame blamed herself for being so stupid as she walked back home. It was just one more thing she had to explain.

The door to the mansion wasn't locked when she turned the handle. It was just like Rick to be so careless. Yet, the moment she walked in, she understood why the door was unlocked. Rick was sitting in the living room. He practically jumped out of the chair he was sitting in when he saw her.

"Where have you been?" He hugged her to him, the relief in his voice obvious. Ayame felt bad for causing him so much worry.

"Are you OK?" He examined her and brushed away the stray hair in her eyes with his strong hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine. See?" She spun around for him to see. He smiled with relief.

"But seriously, where were you? I called all of your friends' place, but they just said that you disappeared along with this girl named Kagome, but that girl's parents said she didn't even go back home," Rick asked seriously.

Ayame sighed inwardly. Rick, he just had to be so thorough with his search. She was surprised that he hadn't called the police already. She thought that his protectiveness was sweet and all, but at times like this, she really felt trapped by it.

"It's really complicated. I'd rather not talk about it now."

Rick didn't say anything else, though his expression showed a mixture of hurt, disappointment, and anger. "You can tell me later. You must be tired." He changed the subject and lifted her off the floor. He carried her all the way up to her room.

Ayame couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness and gave him a passionate kiss as he lowered her on the bed. She felt his hands on her legs slowly sliding up, pushing up the yukata. Yet, something didn't feel right. She pulled away from him abruptly and gazed into his eyes full of longing and love.

"What's wrong?" He whispered.

"It… I… I'm going to take a bath. I stink." Ayame forced a smile and walked into the bathroom quickly. She locked the door just in case Rick tried to do something. He'd done it countless times before. When the water was just right, she slipped in and sighed with comfort.

Ayame closed her eyes and rested, but she couldn't take her mind off a certain handsome face she'd seen in the past few hours. Those cold golden eyes. The silver hair. A handsome but expressionless face. His sexy body. And his masculine, condescending, yet sexy voice.

_Oh God, Why am I thinking about that heartless freak? There must be something wrong with me._

The comfort of the bath disappeared and Ayame stepped out. Wrapping a towel around her body, she walked out into her room only to find Rick waiting for her. Before she could say anything, he pulled her into his arms, his fingers trailing from her neck downward. Lower and lower.

"I missed you," he murmured softly as Ayame sighed with pleasure at his touch. She felt him tugging on her towel.

"No… not now, Rick…" The refusal came out before she could stop it. She didn't know why, but the uneasy feeling from before persisted. Something just didn't feel right with this. Yet, if it was in the past, she'd be kissing him madly by now, but today, something was holding her back, and she had no doubt what, or rather who, was the reason.

"Why? It's been so long." He kissed her nose and slowly moved down to her lips.

She smiled. "It's only been a week."

"But that's the longest time ever… I swear…" Rick stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. She gazed back into his emerald ones, but what she saw were Sesshomaru's eyes looking back at her. Startled, she almost jumped up.

"Ayame, what's the matter?"

"No…. Nothing." She didn't understand why she was thinking about that arrogant jerk so much. He hadn't shown any gratitude after she'd taken care of him, and he didn't even give a damn that his minion almost squashed her.

_Why am I even thinking about him? I'm back home, and I have the perfect fiancé._

"I'm tired. Maybe you should go…" She told Rick.

He sighed with disappointment. Before he left, he kissed her deeply.

_I'm sorry, Rick._ Again, there was that strange feeling again. For some weird reason, she had the feeling she would betray Rick or do some other things that could hurt him deeply. Before she could think further about it, she climbed into the comfort of her bed and soon fell asleep, leaving all her worries behind.

* * *

Two days later, Ayame decided to go back to school, then remembered that she'd lost her uniform in the feudal era. She cursed her bad luck and instead wore a black shirt with a pair of low-cut jeans, so she was showing a little of her mid-riff.

She walked down the stairs and found Rick waiting for her in the dining room. "I thought you're going to school." Rick looked her up and down, which made her blush.

"Yeah, I lost my uniform the other night."

"Speaking of that, you still haven't told me anything." Rick suddenly turned serious.

"I told you. It's nothing important. I just go… uh… caught up with something…" She said unconvincingly. It was the worst lie that she'd ever told, but she just didn't know what to tell him.

Rick didn't say anything, even though she knew that he didn't believe her one bit. Then, they ate breakfast in an awkward silence and Rick drove her to school like before.

"Are you mad?" Ayame asked him because he had been quiet throughout the entire ride.

"Maybe," he smiled half playfully and half sadly. "It's been a long time since you've lied to me, Ayame."

"Look, I'll make it up to you tonight. How's that?" She gave him her best smile because she knew that Rick deserved better.

"You better." He kissed her and left.

Ayame went to the office and paid for another set of uniform before class started. After that she went to class and waited in dread, thinking up of ways to make it up to Rick.

However, she couldn't concentrate on anything else during the day except for the feudal era and Sesshomaru. She was surprised that something as insignificant as that could distract her so much, but somehow, she felt as if she belonged there in the past instead of the present.

After school, Ayame called Rick to tell him not to pick her up. She promised him that she'd go back and do what she said this morning, but first, she had to go to Kagome's house. She didn't know what she would do there, but she had to put those few hours of feudal era behind her. The only way to do that was to return to where the problems first began.

Since she didn't know whether Kagome's parents knew about the feudal era or not, she decided to sneak to the well. It wasn't a very hard task, since the place seemed to be devoid of human habitation at the present moment. She sighed deeply as she looked down into the well. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to do this, which was probably the stupidest thing she'd ever do.

Nonetheless, Ayame jumped in and waited for the feeling of the long drop and the purple light, but nothing happened. Instead, she just landed on the bottom of the well. _Guess it's not working anymore. _

_Maybe it was just a one-time thing. _With that in mind, Ayame climbed up the well, still half hoping that it'd suddenly start working and that she would be able to see Sesshomaru again. Just one last time.

However, just when her head poked through the opening, the entire well flashed purple. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. _Just my luck,_ she groaned.

Then, somebody appeared in front of her eyes like lightning, causing her to gasp and lose her grip on the stone. She caught the flash of silver and thought, _damn him!

* * *

_

After the battle with Inuyasha, Sesshomaru returned to his castle with Jaken and Rin. Normally, he would've beaten Inuyasha to death for what that bastard had done to him before, but that day, he didn't feel like doing it after that purifying arrow.

Something had been bothering him for a while as he lain in his bed thinking, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Then, one night, he dreamed about someone. A human girl with golden hair he'd never seen before. Her hands caressed him… He was injured… He didn't know why, but her gentle touch sent waves of pleasure down his entire body. Desire tugged at him but he kept it at the minimum level.

_So it's that weird girl… Strange how a human should get to me like this,_ Sesshomaru thought, waking up at the first rays of sunlight.

He dressed and went out to see Jaken and Rin playing in the grasslands behind the castle.

"Jaken, watch Rin," Sesshomaru ordered and left before Jaken could ask any questions or complain.

He recalled that well where the girl had fallen into and never came out off even after his puppet demon had smashed it into pieces. As he came closer and closer to the well, he found her scent, a tender and smooth scent that reflected her gentleness, the way she'd treated him when he'd been wounded.

Somehow, Sesshomaru ended up near a village as he followed her scent. Carefully, as not to be discovered by the villagers, he snuck into the house where her scent was the strongest and found what had attracted him there. It was her clothes he remembered seeing on her that day. They were the same ones that the girl who was always with Inuyasha wore. Even though the clothes were thoroughly cleaned, he could still smell a little bit of her scent. He grabbed the clothes and jumped out of the window, heading for the well.

The place was a mess after the last battle, especially the well. It had been totally annihilated by the other demon. Sesshomaru lifted up the broken pieces of woods to find the opening. Still wondering what the heck had happened to the girl, he jumped in while pondering why he was acting so foolish.

However, he didn't land when he expected to and just felt the continuous dropping as strange purple lights glowed around him.

When he finally landed on solid ground, Sesshomaru looked up and caught the flash of gold above him and the intoxicating scent of the girl he'd been looking for. With a smirk, he jumped out and stood in front of her. He caught the dumbstruck look on her face before she lost hold of the side of the well and fell back down.

A little bit stunned himself, Sesshomaru jumped back in, thinking how stupid he was to chase after some human when he didn't even know why she was bothering him so much.

The ground of the well disappeared again as the two of them fell. Soon, he caught up to her and grabbed her wrist. Then, Sesshomaru wrapped his arm around her waist when the two of them finally landed, so it looked like he was hugging her.

She seemed to be still recovering from the shock of seeing him once again. However, before she could say anything, Sesshomaru couldn't stop himself from kissing her…

* * *

Ayame was still glaring at Sesshomaru as she fell. This time, she didn't land. Instead, purple lights glowed around her and she knew she was going back to the feudal era.

When she felt somebody grabbing her wrist, she looked up and saw Sesshomaru. As she landed, she felt his other arm wrap around her waist. Somehow, it just felt so comfortable to be near him, despite the fact that he was an arrogant asshole. She wasn't nervous anymore. It just felt… right to be in his arms. She'd never felt like this when she was with Rick.

She gazed up at him and saw that he was staring at her, his eyes burning with intensity. Before she knew what was happening, he kissed her deeply.

Ayame was completely stunned. The kiss felt so good even though she knew it was wrong for her to enjoy it. She tried to push him away, but his hold on her was too strong for her to break. He parted her lips forcefully with his tongue and then explored her mouth while pushing her against the well wall. Ayame couldn't help but moan with pleasure. Soon, she found herself kissing him back with equal fervor.

Sesshomaru tugged at her shirt, frustrated by the strange clothes she wore that prevented him from truly touching her. Desire rode him hard and fast. He knew he was on the edge between sanity and insanity, and her moans of pleasure didn't help him regain any control.

_What am I doing? I shouldn't be here._ The thought of betrayal brought Ayame back down to earth. This time, she pushed harder and kicked Sesshomaru in the shins. He finally released her, though he didn't have any other reaction, such as pain or surprise.

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like the longest time because neither of them was sure why that kiss had happened, or neither of them wanted to face the truth.

"You're coming with me!" Sesshomaru finally said coldly in a tone that broke no arguments. He grabbed Ayame's arm and jumped out of the well in one leap.

"Let go of me! What do you think you're doing?"

His hold on her was strong and painful. Ayame had no doubt that it would leave a mark just like the last time.

Sesshomaru just held her arm as he jumped from tree to tree. She felt like her arm was being torn off or something because it hurt so much. Even though she was tired and wanted to sleep, she couldn't because the constant pain from her arm was killing her.

When Sesshomaru finally stopped and let go of her, she collapsed on the ground and lost consciousness…

* * *

When she woke up, Ayame saw that she was lying on a big bed that felt very comfortable. She wondered if Sesshomaru put her there. _Maybe he's not so bad._ She smiled at the thought and closed her eyes again. Since she was still so tired, she soon fell asleep again.

When she woke up the next morning, she was staring straight into Sesshomaru's golden eyes and she could feel his arms around her. Her face turned a deep shade of red as he smirked. She noticed that he didn't have his top on and only blushed harder when she felt every part of him imprinted against her.

Ayame looked down at herself and saw that she was still wearing her clothes_. At least he didn't do anything to me._

"Slept well?" Sesshomaru's voice startled her even though she knew he was right beside her.

She nodded without looking at him. Yet, he placed his hand under her chin and made her look at him. Sesshomaru had many questions to ask this girl from another world, but he didn't know where to start, nor was it in his nature to voice the questions. However, he did pick the easier one to ask, "Where did you come from, girl?" He first saw the confusion on the girl's face and then anger.

Ayame thought the question was weird because he obviously knew where she came from. Then, a wave of anger hit her because he had never called her by her name. "My name is Ayame Ryuzaki, not girl!" She snapped, which caused him to narrow his eyes in warning.

"Tell me, Ayame, where did you get so much power?"

"Power?" She didn't understand what he was talking about.

"You're not just a normal girl. That arrow you fired the other day contained too much untapped power." Sesshomaru looked at her, waiting for an explanation. However, the girl looked genuinely confused by his questions.

"That arrow was kind of strange…" Ayame admitted half to herself. "But I can't possibly have any _powers _because I'm just a normal high school student."

Sesshomaru suddenly looked amused, though she had no idea why. She didn't realize that to Sesshomaru, her explanation made no sense. It was even more amusing due to the fact that she sounded so convincing while speaking nonsense. He didn't even bother asking what "high school" was.

Then, Sesshomaru got out of bed and dressed. Maybe she didn't know why she had so much power, but he had a pretty good idea of where to find the answers. "Take a bath. I'll send clothes up for you. We have to go somewhere."

"Where?"

"That is none of your concern." Sesshomaru's voice became cold like before. He had no tolerance for questions, and she was just full of them.

"But I just want to go back home!" Ayame complained as she remembered that she'd broken her promise to Rick. He'd be furious… and hurt.

"You're not going anywhere, now go bath!" Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red and he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Ayame just stared at the door for a minute thinking about why his attitude toward her always changes so drastically. When he was kind, she could never be sure how long that would last. Not that he knew what being kind meant, but those few minutes when he spoke to her like a normal person had been sort of nice.

Then, she saw the bruise on her arm when he had dragged her through the trees. It still stung a little even though it didn't hurt as much as it did last night.

Sighing, she moved out of bed and walked through another door opposite of where Sesshomaru had left. It was the only other door in the room, so she figured that must be where the bath was. Sliding into the warm water tub, she berated herself for her stupidity. Why did she have to go back to that stupid well? If she'd only left it alone, she'd be with Rick by now.

However, as she sat in the water, Ayame realized that she couldn't lie to herself anymore. A part of her wanted to be here. That part of her was intrigued by and attracted to Sesshomaru, no matter what kind of jerk he was.

_Why couldn't I just have a few peaceful months?_

Still, she wondered where Sesshomaru would be taking her and felt thrilled to be able to spend more time with him… Yeah, she was definitely in trouble and needed some major help.

* * *

**A/N: It's finally getting interesting, I think. REVIEW please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Ayame stayed in the bath for as long as she could before the water became too lukewarm. When she returned to the room, she saw a black kimono with red roses embroidered on it on the bed. She smiled and slipped it on quickly. Maybe Sesshomaru didn't know, but her favorite flower was roses, especially red ones. She was definitely a hopeless romantic.

Now, somehow, she wasn't as worried about home as she thought she would be. It just felt very relaxing to be here in the past. She didn't have to worry about anything. No homework; no business; no papers to sign; no deals to go over, and lastly, no fear of displeasing her parents.

Once dressed, she wanted to see what she looked like, but there were no mirrors in the room. In fact, she didn't know if mirrors existed in the feudal era or not. They probably did, but Sesshomaru didn't have any need for them.

After everything was done, Ayame left the room only to find herself in a large hallway. She wasn't sure where to go until she heard footsteps coming from her right.

"I see you're done. Now come." Sesshomaru's voice was as cold as before. There was no expression on his face whatsoever, not that she'd ever seen any except for two times. She kind of wished that he would be more approachable, but then she supposed that he wouldn't be Sesshomaru anymore if he changed.

Sesshomaru took anther look at her before turning back and walking away.

"Where are we going?" Ayame caught up to him and walked beside him even though it was kind of hard for her to keep up with his long strides.

"Some place where a normal youkai shouldn't go," he answered in that mysterious way he had.

Ayame stared at him. "But aren't you a youkai?" she asked. It wasn't that hard to figure out. He was definitely not human.

"I said a normal youkai. Do not mistaken me for one, Ayame."

_A place where normal youkais shouldn't go, huh?_ She pondered this as they descended the stairs.

Then, her stomach growled loudly. Ayame blushed when Sesshomaru stopped walking and looked at her with something akin to amusement lighting his eyes.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped at him with a red face.

Sesshomaru only raised a perfect brow and seemed to be more amused by her actions. Then, he called out a name in the deep voice of his. She saw another woman, or so she though, walking out from a hallway to the left of the stairs. She was very pretty with medium length black hair that dropped down to her shoulders, a pair of red eyes that gave Ayame the creeps, and a slender but sexy body.

The woman's smile at Sesshomaru was sweet and inviting, but Sesshomaru didn't have any obvious reactions to the woman except polite distain. Suddenly, Ayame didn't feel very well.

"Sesshomaru-sama, did you need something?" The woman's hands splayed over Sesshomaru's chest, but Sesshomaru pushed her away with a glare.

"Get away, wench! Or would you like the hospitality of the dungeons?" He suddenly looked murderous. The woman, or demon, as Ayame had already deducted, whimpered and bowed down out of respect.

Sesshomaru smirked. "Prepare breakfast in the dining room. We'll be there shortly."

The female youkai bowed again and left almost instantly. Ayame now knew that the youkai was nothing more than a servant in Sesshomaru's eyes. She wondered how many other servants were in the place. However, even knowing the other woman was nothing more than a mere servant, Ayame couldn't resist taunting Sesshomaru. "Nice… uh… lover you've got there," she said with sarcasm.

"Mind your tone, girl. She's merely a servant," Sesshomaru growled, confirming Ayame's suspicions. Her heart felt lighter.

"I'm sure you've got a lot of FEMALE servants around!" She nodded her head in agreement.

Then, quick as lightning, her feet were off the ground with Sesshomaru's hand wrapped around her throat. "I said mind your tone. I didn't kill you before doesn't mean I won't do it now, or I could give you to my demon servants. They'd enjoy your flesh," Sesshomaru threatened and then dropped her on the ground.

Even though it was only for several seconds, it still scared the shit out of her, but she refused to let it show outwardly. "Just exactly what do you want from me?" she shouted at him.

Sesshomaru didn't answer and walked toward a door to her right. Honestly, he didn't know himself. He wanted the human girl for himself, but at the same time, she irritated the hell out of him. He kept telling himself that she served some important purpose with her powers. It was the only reason he was keeping her here.

Ayame was filled with anger and felt as if she would soon blow up as she followed that insolent asshole. Yet, when she walked into the other room, her anger died down as she saw the food on the dining table. The amount of food piled on the table looked more like a feast than a normal breakfast.

"Eat!" Sesshomaru pushed her forward as if it was her obligation to do so.

However, Ayame didn't bother screaming at him since she was so damned hungry. She sat down and started to eat, not minding her manners one bit. Sesshomaru didn't take his eyes off of her for one second as she ate, but she was too preoccupied to care about what he was thinking.

_I'm stuffed!_ Ayame smiled as she finished.

Two other female servants came out of a door to Ayame's left. One cleaned up the table while the other one handed her a wet towel to clean her hands and face. Ayame didn't miss any of their glares thrown her way.

"Now let's go!" She felt a lot more energetic after eating.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything and walked out the door that he came through.

The two of them walked in silence until they were in a clearing. Sesshomaru grabbed Ayame's wrist and slumped her on his shoulder.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" Ayame pounced on his back after gaining her breath since his action took her in surprise.

"Quiet!" This time, his voice held so much command that she couldn't find anything to say to him, so she just stayed quiet on his shoulder while he jumped from tree to tree.

* * *

"We're here!" Sesshomaru practically threw Ayame off of his shoulder as he announced. He really couldn't stand another minute so near to her. Her scent was intoxicating and was actually making his head swim. He still couldn't believe that he was attracted to the worthless human. Him! The great TaiYoukai and Lord of the Western Lands attracted to a human! It was utterly ridiculous. 

Ayame jumped and landed on her feet while wanting to punch him in the face, but thought better of it, since he'd probably just return it twice as hard. Instead, she turned and saw that she was standing at the bottom of a small mountain. There were what seemed like hundreds of stairs to the top, where she guessed must be a temple, since the place reminded her of Kagome's home.

"Why are we here?" she asked Sesshomaru, becoming suspicious. A normal youkai wouldn't go near a temple, especially if the temple was well warded, but she didn't know that.

"I don't like explaining myself."

"So am I supposed to go up?"

"The priest in this temple will know what power you have," he finally answered one of her many questions.

"And you know the priest?"

"No, but I've heard of him."

Knowing that she wouldn't get anymore than what he already told her, Ayame started the laborious journey of climbing the stairs.

_Screw him. _She knew perfectly well that Sesshomaru could have taken her to the top if he wished, but he was just standing there looking cold and smug while she climbed the stupid steps to the top. He could easily get to the top with two or three leaps.

She mentally noted it down as another thing to pay back to Sesshomaru once she was strong enough to fight him, if that ever happens.

When she finally arrived at the top, she caught a glimpse of Sesshomaru behind one of the trees around the temple, but he quickly disappeared as a young man came to sight. She stared at him for a moment and saw that he dropped the bucket of water he was carrying as he ran back into the temple screaming "youkai" over and over again.

_Youkai?_ Ayame was stunned and then realized that it was probably because of her unusual hair color. Yet, before she could do anything, she felt something bypass her ear and hit the ground right behind her. She jumped back in surprise and saw her attacker.

It was another young handsome man about the same age as she was. He had brown hair that was cut short at his earlobe. His eyes were stern and a blue-gray color, unusual in the Japanese society. He looked very strong and tall even from a distance. Then Ayame noticed the two throwing knives in each of his hand.

"No! Wait! I'm not a demon! You got it all wrong!" She shouted and stepped backwards to show that she wouldn't do anything to harm them.

The man stared at her for a second and then probably decided to trust her, since he put away his weapons and walked forward.

"What business do you have in this temple?" His voice was just as cold as Sesshomaru's, though it didn't send a shiver of awareness down her spine.

"I'm looking for a priest." That was the best Ayame could come up with since she didn't know the priest's name at all.

The man didn't say anything and just turned after a few more seconds of studying her. "Wait here," he said and then disappeared.

Ayame just stared at where he was and wondered how he did that trick.

"Master, she's there." She heard the young man's voice a few minutes later. He was walking beside an ancient-looking man who could be older than her grandfather. The first boy she saw was right behind those two, still looking timid and scared of her.

"Sorry if my apprentice scared you. I am Priest Yasun. As I hear, you're looking for me?" The priest asked kindly.

"Uh… well… yes…" Ayame stammered, deliberating on how to explain everything. Should she tell them the truth? That she was kidnapped by a demon that was hiding in the bushes? Maybe the priest could take care of Sesshomaru for her and she could go back, but then again, Sesshomaru seemed awfully confident and powerful. She didn't want these men to be killed needlessly.

"I'm Ayame Ryuzaki. Lately, I've been having some troubles. You see, my father is a youkai exterminator, so I was trained since I was small, but I discovered some weird powers while I was fighting a youkai the other day. Father sent me here, hoping you would be able to help me." The story had tons of loopholes in them, but it was the best she could come up with since she thought nothing of the sort before.

Yet, if the priest noticed that she was lying, he didn't say anything. He simple sighed. "I see. Then I guess your family will be glad to hear that you are a born priestess."

"What?" Ayame's jaw dropped at hearing those words. _Me, a priestess? Who's he kidding? _"Look, I know I asked you for it, but there is no way that I'm a priestess." She backed off, trying to think how Sesshomaru will take this, though she was sure he probably expected something like this to happen.

"Are you saying that Master Yasun is wrong?" The boy behind Yasun accused.

Ayame didn't know what to say. For a little boy who runs at the sight of a youkai, he sure had a lot of guts defending his teacher.

"Kahu, be quiet." Now she sensed the power and authority from the priest. He may not be just an old and senile man after all. "Whether you choose to believe me or not, it is your choice, but if you do, I can train you to master that power. I've trained several priests and priestesses before. I could help you."

"For how long?"

"Since you are not telling me the truth, I will give you one year. It is a rather short time for apprentices like you to learn."

_One year?_ Ayame thought she was seeing stars. There was absolutely no way. What about Rick? What about her life in the future? She couldn't possibly stay here. It was completely out of the question. One of these days she was going to escape from Sesshomaru and return to the future. Then, even if Sesshomaru knew she had left, he still wouldn't be able to find where she lived, or at least she hoped so.

"Uh… Let me think about it," she stammered, knowing that Sesshomaru would probably kill her if she plainly rejected the offer.

"You have two days," Yasun said and went back into the temple with his two disciples without giving her another glance.

_Man, they've got attitude problems._ Ayame thought as she watched them disappear. She then started heading back down the stairs. Halfway through, somebody, doubtlessly Sesshomaru, slumped her over his shoulder and leaped the rest of the way down the mountain.

"Damn! Don't you know how to treat a lady?" She yelled at him when he threw her down on the ground again, the second time in a day.

"You will become his apprentice." Sesshomaru didn't even acknowledge her anger.

"No way! NO WAY! Do you hear me? I have a life in the future! Even Kagome can sometimes go back. I can't stay here for a year. Besides, you heard him. A year won't make me a priestess."

"I still have uses for you."

"I won't be some…" She never finished the sentence as he covered her lips with his in a passionate kiss. All thoughts flew out of her head as every part of her being focused on the kiss. When was the last time anyone had ever kissed her like this? She honestly couldn't remember as she kissed back with the same amount of passion and wrapped her arms around his neck.

When she felt his tongue touch her lips, she opened her mouth to allow him entry. She moaned slightly as her hand brushed his beautiful silver hair. She hadn't realized it, but her feelings for Sesshomaru had grown despite the way she hated him so. The fact that he was built like a Greek god was only a bonus.

Sesshomaru had only planned on distracting her, but he totally lost his train of thought as she kissed him back, her soft mouth opening beneath his and her body melting against him. His arms around her tightened and all the blood drained out of his head and down to his groin. God, he wanted to take her right there, to feel her beneath him, and to hear her call his name in the throes of ecstasy. However, with more effort than he realized, he finally pulled away. He was satisfied to hear her little whimper of dismay.

Though he wanted desperately to forget about this entire thing and lock them in his chamber until he satiated his lust, he plastered a smile on his face and asked, "You were saying?"

She hadn't a clue. Instead, she tried to pull him back down to her for another kiss.

"There will be time for that later. Now, go back and accept the old priest's offer." His words jarred her back to the present.

"But give me some time. I need to go back to my world. They'll be worried about me if I just disappear for a year." Even as she said that, she realized she couldn't possibly reveal the truth to anyone, not even Rick. She'd probably get locked up in an asylum somewhere.

Sesshomaru sighed at her persistence. "All right."

Ayame climbed on his back this time instead of him just throwing her over his shoulder. She sighed with comfort as she took in his smell. She liked being close to him. Despite the harsh ways he treated her, she somehow felt safe with him whenever he was not angry.

Sesshomaru started to jump from tree to tree rapidly, but she didn't feel like she would fall off at all. Then, unnoticeably, they were in front of the bone-eater well and Sesshomaru jumped in without a least bit of hesitation.

Once outside the well, Ayame had no idea how they made it to her home without her having a heart attack, mostly because of Sesshomaru. She was so scared that somebody was going to notice him, since he looked and dressed weird, and it wasn't even Halloween yet, but Sesshomaru was way too fast for anyone to see him as she told him directions to her house.

She wasn't happy about the turn of events. Now, it meant that Sesshomaru would know where to find her even if she did escape back to the future. Her life couldn't have been better. When they arrived, she directed him to the back of the mansion and they got inside to her room from the window.

"Humans have strange things in the future," Sesshomaru announced as he stood in the middle of the room and examined her room.

She rolled her eyes. "We just have better things," she corrected him as she took out a piece of paper and started writing a letter to Rick.

"Ayame, is that you?"

Her door suddenly opened even as she cursed. She didn't want Rick to find out that she'd returned. It was a complication she didn't want.

Rick was standing in the doorway. His hair was a mess, but it only made him look sexier than before. There were dark circles under his eyes. She felt so guilty that she had caused him to worry so much. She looked around and saw that Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight. She sighed inwardly with relief. _At least he has some common sense. _

"Rick, I just uh… got back."

"Where have you been?" He stormed into the room and slammed the door behind him. "Do you know how worried I was? You just disappeared without a word again. Don't ever do that again!" He hugged her tightly and kissed her. "And what's with you clothes?" He said when he pulled away, not giving her any time to explain, which she was grateful for, since she still hadn't figured out how to explain.

"I ran into some trouble, and…somebody lent me these clothes when my old ones became dirty," she stammered.

"What kind of trouble?"

Ayame knew she couldn't get out of this one, but she tried anyway, "It's really nothing." From the look in Rick's eyes, she knew that this time he wouldn't let it go so easy.

"Ayame, you better tell me or…" Rick was cut off from his threat since his cellphone rang. Both of them sighed, for different reasons. Rick from frustration and she from relief.

"Hi, Dad," Rick answered the phone. "Sorry, I can't go. Ayame just came back."

Ayame prayed that whatever it was, let Rick leave, but her hopes diminished when he said, "Fine. I'll bring her along." Then he hung up after saying good-bye.

"You better get ready. Our parents are throwing a party for some foreigner. Dad says it's important. We have to leave in two hours." He sounded very businesslike, which was a Rick she knew how to deal with.

"Then I better get ready," she put up an innocent smile as she complied.

"Ayame, this isn't over yet. We'll definitely talk about it afterwards," Rick said and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Ayame sighed again with relief.

"Who's that?" Sesshomaru's voice made her jump.

"God, you almost scared me to death. Don't do that."

Sesshomaru didn't bother acknowledging her comment and asked again, "Who is he?"

"Rick, he's my fiancé," Ayame answered carelessly as she turned on the water for a bath.

Sesshomaru raised an elegant eyebrow at her answer and looked rather thoughtful.

"What?" She snapped?

"Nothing."

Ayame looked at him suspiciously before turning off the water when the tub was full. "Now if you'll excuse me," she said to Sesshomaru and then locked the door before he could say anything. She slipped out of her clothes, trusting Sesshomaru not to do anything stupid.

She took a good 30 minutes in the bath, enjoying every last second of it because it might be her last in this world. When she was done, she wrapped a towel around her body and left the bathroom to see Sesshomaru standing beside the window, waiting for her. He looked her up and down when he saw her, causing her to blush.

"Ayame, are you done?" The door opened and Rick came in.

"Don't you ever knock?"

Hearing her question, Rick stopped in shock. He'd never have to knock before. "What was wrong with you? I never had to knock before, did I?"

Getting over his initial shock, he walked to Ayame with a seductive smile when he saw that she was only in a towel. From the look on his face, she knew what he wanted and she backed up.

"Rick, don't…" However, her protest was cut off when he kissed her. She stumbled back further and fell on the bed.

"I'm tired of your secrets, Ayame. Maybe we shouldn't have come to Japan after all," Rick whispered and then kissed her again.

This time the kiss was more demanding. He forced her mouth open with his tongue as he pinned both of her wrists one the bed with one arm while the other one pulled away the towel, leaving her naked beneath him.

"Rick, please, stop it!" She shouted as Rick's mouth left hers and traveled downward. She struggled, but nothing worked. He was simply stronger than she was. Besides, he wasn't listening to her pleads at all. This wasn't the Rick she knew. More importantly, she felt no desire from his touches, the same ones that had inflamed her only days before. Now, she felt nothing more than a sick revulsion.

Then, Ayame saw Sesshomaru behind Rick. The expression on his face scared the life out of her. "No!" she screamed, shaking her head furiously at Sesshomaru. Though she didn't want Rick's advances, she didn't want Sesshomaru to hurt him either. After all, it wasn't Rick's fault that she'd kept her disappearance a secret.

However, Sesshomaru, like Rick, didn't listen to her either and pulled Rick off of her and threw him against the wall. Before Rick recovered from the shock, Sesshomaru dragged her into his arms and jumped out of the window.

"No! Stop! I need to get my clothes!" Ayame's face turned a million shades of red when she realized that she was completely naked. She hadn't noticed, but Sesshomaru had grabbed her towel, so now he wrapped it around her as he headed back to the well.

"What did you do that for?" Ayame pushed Sesshomaru away when Sesshomaru landed beside the well.

"Do what?" He stood there and enjoyed the view that she only had a towel on.

"Why did you push him away? You could've been found out! Do you know how much trouble that would be?"

Sesshomaru, who had simply looked amused before, was once more furious. He took a threatening step toward her and forced her back against the well. His face was almost touching hers as he hissed, "You're mine! I will not allow anyone to touch you!"

* * *

**A/N: sry this chap took more than a month. I swear I had it written earlier, but I never found the time to edit a little and read over it. Anyway, now I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.  
REVIEW and tell me what you think .!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Ayame and Sesshomaru glared at each other as the realization of what he had just shouted slowly sunk in.

The words shocked Ayame to the bone. She was elated, but she had no idea if he really meant those words or if they were just meaningless words to snatch her attention. Did he really care about her that much, or was he simply saying this so he could use her?

Sesshomaru couldn't believe he said those words._What is with this girl? Why is she making me act this way?_ This was the first time he had ever doubted himself. Yet he couldn't deny the tender and foreign feelings he had for the human. He hated himself and her for this weakness. Though he had never experienced this before, he was certain whatever feelings he had for this woman was the same ones that caused his father's demise. He refused to make the same mistake.

"Do… do you care about me?" Ayame asked tentatively and scrutinized his face, trying to find some answers to her questions.

Sesshomaru looked startled by her question, the first real unguarded response she'd ever received from him. One of his hands touched her face, tracing her jaw line slowly and then her lips while the other one wrapped around her waist. She couldn't hide the sensations he made her feel at this simple touch.

"You're beautiful," Sesshomaru finally whispers gently as his hand brushed her hair softly. It was the only concession she could give her, the only thing that was safe to say. He had no idea how shallow it sounded to Ayame.

However, Ayame wanted to kiss him badly, to melt into his arms, but she still had sense enough to stop making a fool of herself. She had to try to locate the anger she knew would arise from his meaningless statement. "And that's it?" She asked him, not knowing how much Sesshomaru had given in to make that simple admission.

Sesshomaru gave her an amused look, but she didn't miss how his body had stiffened next to hers and couldn't fathom why he should be mad. "I don't want to be with you because you think I'm beautiful and will satisfy your desires. I want to be with you because you really do care about me. I'm not about to be thrown away when you're done with me." Her voice changed from warm to cold as she pulled away from him, wrapped the towel tighter around her body, and jumped into the well without waiting for his answer. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes as she wiped them away furiously.

Soon, Ayame felt his arms around her waist, but she still refused to look at him. As if knowing what she needed, he didn't push her. Instead, he whispered something to her.

Startled, she looked at him, forgetting about her tears and wondering if he was serious about what he said. Seeing her eyes, Sesshomaru's expression softened and there was regret in his eyes, but it was quickly masked with his normal nonchalance.

However, that one instant was enough. She landed on top of him, still pondering about what he had told her. "OK," she finally said after a second or two and stood up. Without waiting for him to say anything, she added quickly, "I'll need some clothes though."

"I don't mind you in that." Sesshomaru smirked and she blushed.

"SIT!"

Both Sesshomaru and Ayame looked up when they heard the voice and recognized it immediately. "Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru growled and pulled Ayame into his arms and jumped out of the well.

Sesshomaru wondered how he could have missed that potent scent of his brother's, and the answer came easily this time, though he still had some trouble accepting it.

Ayame saw Kagome and Inuyasha beside the well while Inuyasha's face was flat on the floor much like when she saw him that first night.

"Ayame!" Kagome caught sight of her when Sesshomaru landed several yards away. Her face changed when she saw Sesshomaru holding you. "Sesshomaru, what are you doing with her? Give her back!!"

Then Ayame saw Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and the cat Kirara jumping out of the trees behind Kagome. She wondered why they weren't there just a second earlier.

"Sesshomaru!!" Inuyasha finally recovered and jumped up from the ground, drawing out his sword.

"Still with your humans, little brother?"

Ayame gasped at Sesshomaru's words. "What? You two are brothers?"

"Half! Though I would never want any brothers!" Inuyasha corrected her.

"Let's go, Ayame! I've had enough of his stench." Sesshomaru started to turn with Ayame in his arms, but a purifying arrow separated the two of them. Suddenly Inuyasha picked up Ayame and landed beside Kagome.

"Leave, Sesshomaru, or the next arrow will be through your heart!" Kagome strung another arrow to the long bow and aimed.

Sesshomaru snarled and charged toward Inuyasha, his eyes once again flashing a weird red. Ayame shivered. She knew Sesshomaru was dangerous, but she'd never truly had a taste of his power until now, not even when he threatened her life, because deep down she knew he wouldn't hurt her, but now, she was actually scared for Inuyasha.

Inuyasha dodged, but he wasn't as fast as Sesshomaru. However, Sesshomaru didn't chase after Inuyasha. Instead, he grabbed Ayame and she fell right into his arms without a protest. Kagome gasped and released the arrow immediately. Since they were so close together, Sesshomaru didn't have a chance of dodging that arrow. Ayame watched in horror as the arrow came closer and closer.

"NO!" She screamed and flung her hand up as if to block the arrow.

A sudden flash of purple appeared and Kagome's arrow was torn to shards as if Ayame had purified the arrow. Everybody froze in their movements and just stared at her.

"I…" Ayame knew something wasn't right about what she had done and held on to Sesshomaru tighter.

"Ayame, what did you do?" Kagome asked, dumbfounded.

That arrow had her powers in there as well, but somehow Ayame was able to negate those powers and destroy it without an effort.

"Now I know why she looks so familiar!" Sango shouted suddenly. "She looks so much like the priestess who made the Shikon Jewel!"

_What the fuck? The what jewel?_ Ayame just stared, shocked speechless by Sango's sudden revelation. Nobody else said a word either. Then she recalled that the Shikon Jewel was the thing that Kagome had destroyed and what every demon wanted, well, almost every demon. She was sure that Sesshomaru didn't give a damn about the stupid jewel. He was confident in his powers that he didn't need something to amplify it.

Then she caught a glimpse of some kind of necklace around Kagome's neck. Suddenly, she was weak and wrecked with pain that came from nowhere yet emanated from the deepest part of her body. She screamed as she felt thousands of knives pierce through her body. She heard screams mixed with her own. A battlefield appeared in her vision where humans and demons fought each other to the death. Something was trying to come out of her while she felt incomplete suddenly.

It hurt like hell, which was an understatement. She finally knew the meaning of pain, a pain that was so deep and ferocious that killing herself would have been a relief.

"Ayame! Ayame!" Someone was calling her name. A voice she was familiar with and had already fallen half in love with.

Ayame looked up and gazed into a pair of golden eyes and remembered Sesshomaru while the pain receded just a little, but she was still shaking.

"It hurts!" She whimpered.

"What hurts?"

She saw Kagome and all the others crowding around her while she lay in Sesshomaru arms on the ground. She turned away from everyone and snuggled deeper into his arms, trying to crawl away from the pain.

"That…thing, around Kagome's…neck…" Her voice was muffled since she had buried her face against Sesshomaru's chest.

"You mean this?"

Kagome held up the thing Ayame saw earlier. Ayame saw the purple color of the jewel before the pain enveloped her again with the same ferocity as before. The images and the screams returned. Her own scream was muffled by the ones she heard in her mind as her body twitched from the pain.

"Put that away!" Sesshomaru growled. Kagome didn't need to be told twice.

Sesshomaru held Ayame as her body continued to shudder and convulse. He felt useless while watching her suffer. He hated this helplessness he was feeling, but he couldn't leave, not when Ayame was holding onto him like a lifeline, not when he didn't know if she would survive this.

His heart had stopped when he saw her collapse on the ground, her body shaking with the force of her convulsions and he could never forget the awful sound of her scream. That was when he realized that what he felt was fear, something he'd never felt once in his life, not even when he was facing his death. Yet, he felt it now for this human woman who had unexpectedly come into his life only several days ago.

Slowly, the convulsions receded and finally stopped. Ayame lay unmoving in his arms, her breathing shallow as she struggled to find some semblance of strength.

"I don't understand. It was only the jewel shards," Kagome said softly.

Ayame closed her eyes, glad that Sesshomaru was here, though it was strange that she found strength in his overpowering presence. "The jewel shards…" she repeated Kagome's words stupidly. She didn't understand either, but why was this happening to her? Wasn't it enough that she was kidnapped from her world by a demon? Couldn't she find peace in this strange world instead of getting sucked into any conflicts?

"I think I have some idea…" Sango said slowly, testing the ground.

Kagome hid the jewel away under her blouse so that Ayame wouldn't be able to see it. Thankful that Kagome was so considerate, Ayame turned to face Sango.

"What is it?" Inuyasha snapped finally. He was not too happy that he was so close to his half-brother and they weren't fighting. It just wasn't right. There wasn't a time when he didn't fight with Sesshomaru and the awkwardness of this peace or whatever was getting on his nerves.

Sesshomaru had a disgusted look on his face too, but he refused to budge for Ayame's sake. Not to mention, he had way more discipline than Inuyasha. It was the only way he could've survived living as a demon lord.

"Sesshomaru, you can go now. I want to spend some time with Kagome and her friends," Ayame said to him with what little strength she had. She didn't want to cause him trouble, which she was doubtless doing. Besides, it might be good to get away from him for a while.

"No! I won't leave you with him."

She heard the doubt in his voice and was hurt that he wouldn't trust you. "Please. Just leave me alone for a while. Come and get me tomorrow, and we'll go back to the temple." She reassured him that she wouldn't run away or do anything else stupid.

"All right, but I'll be nearby," he said.

Ayame smiled and gave him a light peck on the cheek. He just took one last look at her before jumping into the trees and then disappeared.

"Are you two lovers now?" Inuyasha grumbled sarcastically.

"No! We're not." Ayame glared at him since she still didn't know why the brothers hated each other so much or what kind of relationship she had with Sesshomaru.

"So what's this idea that you have?" She asked Sango while making herself comfortable on the ground.

"Before that, we should seriously get you some clothes," Sango said with a smile.

Then Ayame remembered that she had nothing but a towel on and caught Miroku staring at her. _Pervert!_ She looked away, afraid that she might kill him if he looked at her like that any longer, but another part of her was afraid that Sesshomaru would notice and really murder the stupid, perverted monk.

They decided to head back to the village, but it was a slow journey, since Ayame was still too weak to move too fast, even riding on Inuyasha's back didn't help much since she felt so queasy.

"So much for going home," Kagome muttered as they arrived at the village.

Ayame ignored Kagome's little complaint. She knew that she should be sorry that Kagome had to change her plans for her, but she'd already gone through enough troubles herself, not to mention the lingering pain she still felt. She had a feeling that little bit of pain would always stay behind as a reminder of what she had just suffered a few minutes ago. She should really learn to ignore it.

All in all, Ayame was too preoccupied to feel sorry for anybody else after everything that had happened.

Back in Kaede's house, Inuyasha laid Ayame down gently on one of the cots under Kagome's orders. Otherwise he would've just dropped her on the ground. That was one similarity Ayame saw shared by the brothers. She'd have to ask Sesshomaru the reason for the brother's hatred of each other, but that was for later.

"Uh… Kagome, what happened to my school uniform? I left it here, didn't I?" Ayame asked when Kagome handed her a pretty white yukata with different designs on it.

"I don't know. It disappeared two days ago," Kagome said. "Inuyasha said that Sesshomaru probably took it since his scent was all over the place when we got back."

"Oh, OK."

Ayame wondered why Sesshomaru would bother taking her clothes as Kagome left the room. _I'll make sure to ask him the next time I see him._ She put on the yukata and noticed with dread that she was dirty again, so much for the bath back at home. Not to mention, she didn't even pack anything, like shampoo, soap, or make-ups, not that she'd actually need them. She sighed and left the room.

Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome were in the other room waiting for her. Ayame sat down beside Kagome and said hesitantly, "So…" She had no idea what to say and could only wait for someone else to begin this "conversation."

"I think I understand where your powers come from. It is stronger than Kagome's, as we all saw earlier, so you must be somehow related to another priestess. My guess is you're her reincarnation," Sango explained.

"And who might the priestess be?"

"The priestess who made the Shikon no Tama," Sango said.

Ayame didn't doubt Sango for some strange reason even though she had no idea who the priestess was.

"Not that I think about it, you do look awfully like the beautiful priestess whom we saw a long time ago," Miroku said in agreement as if he knew anything, but Ayame doubted it.

"But…" Kagome said, "How can that be? The priestess's soul is inside the Shikon no Tama along with the souls of the youkais, right? So how can she have a reincarnation?"

"That's what I don't understand either, but they are so much alike, just like you and Kikyo." Sango sounded sad all of a sudden.

"It might be…" A voice came from Inuyasha, but Ayame didn't know who was speaking for that voice sounded nothing like Inuyasha's. She leaned forward for a closer look and saw a small flea perched on Inuyasha's shoulder. Then it was suddenly gone and something stung her face. She slapped it automatically and saw the same flea floating to the ground.

"Myouga?" Inuyasha said as he looked down on the ground too.

"Myouga?" Ayame repeated, a little bit fascinated by the little flea. Then Kagome explained that Myouga was the guardian of the grave of Inuyasha's father and sometimes just pops out of nowhere.

"So you were the one speaking?" Ayame picked up the flea and placed him in her palm.

"Yes. As I was saying, it might be that the priestess allowed part of her soul to be joined with another person's before she made the Shikon no Tama."

"Joined with another person? What do you mean by that?"

"It's a rather complicated ritual where only powerful priestesses, priests, and monks could accomplish, such as Kikyo-sama takes the souls of dead girls with her power to remain in the realm of the living. You are a little bit like Kikyo-sama rather than…"

However, Myouga wasn't able to finish as a loud explosion occurred outside and Shippo ran into the room with Kirara behind him. Shippo was plainly panicking while Kirara meowed in impatience and tugged on Sango's clothes.

"What's the matter, Shippo?" Kagome asked when Shippo jumped into her arms.

"It's Kagura!"

Even before he finished speaking, everyone else had already rushed out except for Ayame and Kagome.

"Who's Kagura? And who's Kikyo? Am I the only one here who is clueless?" Ayame asked as she followed Kagome. Outside, she saw a female whom she was sure was a youkai. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. It was as if she could separate the youkai's aura from a human's.

Kagome explained everything quickly, sometimes too fast even for Ayame to catch up, but she did learn a little about Naraku, Kikyo, and everything else related to the Shikon shards. She wasn't sure she wanted to know by the end of the explanation. Everything just seemed so…complicated.

"I see you're got interesting company."

A man in a baboon pelt, or what Ayame thought as a man, suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her by her waist, dragging her back toward him. She struggled, but to no avail. Whoever he was, he was way too strong for her. Doubtlessly, he was probably another youkai.

"Naraku!" Kagome screamed both in anger and fear.

_Great, this is just perfect!_ Ayame thought as she continued her struggle. She just had to meet all these weird people, or youkai, when she was in another world. Why didn't she just stay in the movie theatre?

Frustrated that her efforts were getting her nowhere, Ayame gathered her breath for a scream of her own, hoping Sesshomaru was near. Just where was he when she needed him anyway? However, before she could do anything, Naraku hit her on the back of her head, rendering her unconscious.

* * *

Ayame woke up in a dark room and waited a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, she saw that the room was huge and seemed to be empty except for the bed, which was equally as large and could probably fit five or six people.

She tried to sit up, still trying to remember where she was at the moment. Then her head reeled and she recalled what had happened. Immediately, she searched for a way to get out even though she was having a headache. She didn't even give a thought about the door since whoever had kidnapped her will definitely not allow her to escape that easily, so her eyes fixed on the only window in the room. It was directly across the bed at the other side of the room.

Slowly, she got off the bed, making sure her head didn't protest again and walked toward the window. To her surprise, it opened easily. As she looked outside, she realized why. There was no way she could escape from the window because she couldn't even see the ground from where she was standing, not to mention there was this black and purplish fog that surrounded the building. Little did she know that it was actually poison emanating from Naraku's body.

However, despite the fog, she could still see the horizon. The sun was just rising, and the sky exploded with beautiful colors. It was stunning, much like a painting rather than the real thing.

"Enjoying the view?"

Ayame jumped at the deep masculine voice and turned to see a handsome man behind her. His face was well-defined with strong bones; he has long black hair, but his eyes crept her out. They were a really deep red.

_Interesting._ She knew that he was suspicious, but she didn't sense a bit of demonic power from him, despite his red eyes. "Yes, it's gorgeous," she answered, though she had a thousand questions to ask this guy.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm Garaku." That answered one of her questions.

"I'm Ayame. Excuse me, but how did I end up here?"

"My servants and I were hunting in the woods when I saw the youkai carrying you. I defeated him and took you back to my castle," he explained.

Ayame nodded, somewhat pacified. "Thank you."

He just smiled kind of awkwardly. Then there was a period of silence. Ayame wasn't exactly sure how to ask him to take her back to Kagome since she didn't know where they could be at the moment. And what about Sesshomaru? She had told him to pick her up this morning. He'd be furious to find out that she was gone and would probably think she'd deceived him and ran away.

Ayame was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that Garaku had stepped forward slowly until their bodies were touching slightly which made her nervous and uncomfortable. There was something wrong with the way Garaku behaved.

Garaku tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him. His face was so close to hers that she instinctively drawn back, but his hand only tightened painfully.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured.

Before Ayame could react, Garaku took her by surprised and kissed her roughly. His tongue darted into her mouth before she could utter a protest. One of his hands snaked around her waist and pressed her tight against him so that her struggles were utterly useless. His other hand moved to undo her kimono.

Then she finally sensed the demonic aura rolling off of him in waves, so much so that she was choking with it. Deep inside, she revolted against what he was doing and screamed. Her powers finally came out in a purple flash and sent him flying across the room.

Ayame dashed toward the door instinctively, but it was locked. Garaku was already behind her with his eyes flashing red.

"You won't get away from me, human!"

He threw her right on the bed with a wave of his hand and was on top of her in an instant. He kissed her forcefully and tore at her clothes, but it seemed her luck was with her again as the whole castle suddenly started shaking and something roared terribly outside.

Garaku moved off of her and ran to the window. Ayame was still panting while tears rolled down her face without her noticing them. Everything was a blur to her. Then there was that roar again and a loud stomp outside. Garaku, or whoever he was, totally ignored Ayame and jumped out of the window to face whatever was outside.

Slowly, Ayame's system calmed down. She gathered her tattered clothes around her and walked to the window just to see a gigantic dog demon outside. The dark fog outside the castle had somewhat disappeared and was replaced by purple fogs. Behind the dog demon was Kagome and the gang. There is also a crescent purple moon on the forehead of the dog demon that somehow looked very familiar. Finally, she saw that the purple fog was coming from the dog demon's mouth and wondered what it was.

Ayame didn't see Garaku, but jus the person who had kidnapped her. She finally realized that the two of them were the same person despite the weird clothes worn by the so-called Naraku.

Inuyasha was shouting something at Naraku, who said something back in return, but Ayame couldn't hear a word of what they spoke. Soon the fighting started as the dog demon and Inuyasha started attacking Naraku. Ayame almost screamed as she saw Naraku's lower body turning into a bunch of tree branches that started to attack the others.

Several times, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were always in the dog demon's way since the gigantic demon could've already smashed Naraku to pieces if it weren't for those three who were always so close to the assault also. After some time, all the others finally figured it out and drew back so that the dog demon could finally unleash its true power. Naraku stood no chance against the dog demon and soon fled into the woods.

Before anybody could give chase, as Inuyasha was bound to do, Ayame poked her head out of the window and screamed as loudly as she could, "Kagome! KAGOME!!!!"

However, nobody seemed to hear her except for the dog demon, which was the last thing she wanted. Then, she watched in amazement as the dog demon suddenly transformed back to Sesshomaru. She stumbled back in shock and fear, but Sesshomaru was already in front of her.

"Ayame, are you OK?" He looked genuinely worried, but she just stepped away from him.

"What… What are you?" Sure, she knew he was a demon almost the first time she met him, but… but… this was impossible… How… How could he? Her thoughts stumbled across one another. She knew she shouldn't be so scared. After all, he did save her from Naraku, but she couldn't help it. It was almost like a reflex. Her brain just couldn't accept so much information in such a short amount of time.

Sesshomaru almost looked hurt as she uttered those words, but it disappeared just as quickly. He pulled her into his arms and gently caressed her back. "I did not tell you, but my true form is that of a dog demon. I did not think it would scare you so much. But know this, I will never hurt you."

The minute Ayame felt his arms around her, she knew she was safe. All her fears dissipated. She closed her eyes and savored the moment of him being so close. She knew he was telling the truth. He would never hurt her. It made her feel a lot better, knowing that he really cared about her. As he carried her out of the window, she wished that she could always stay there, in his arms, as she slowly drifted into darkness.

* * *

** A/N: Wow, I can't believe I haven't updated for more than a year. Well, here's the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. Hopefully I'll get the next one out soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: HEY, I'm back. Sorry for the extremely long wait! To be honest, I've kind of forgotten about this story, but I was looking through my files and found it buried beneath two or three layers of different folders, so here it is. the Long awaited next chapter.**

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**Chapter Six**

When Ayame opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Sesshomaru's sleeping face. She couldn't help but smile at how peaceful and serene he looked even though he could be such a jackass when he wanted to. Her eyes trailed down to his lips and remembered the times when he kissed her before. It was strong and fulfilling. More importantly, it made her feel alive and aroused desire deep within her. Yet, she pulled herself away from those thoughts. It wasn't right. He was a demon, and she didn't even know if she could stay in this place. Besides, he couldn't possibly care for her the way she wanted him to, despite what he did before.

Sesshomaru hated humans and hated hanyous even more. Even if she stayed here, what would happen? Would she ever have a child with him? Would she ever truly be happy? Besides, demons are always more gorgeous than humans. Even if he loves her now, how long will that last? Demons could stay young forever, while she'd grow old and ugly.

Unknowingly, Ayame sat up on the other side of the bed and started shaking with pain as all these thoughts flooded her mind. Sesshomaru woke up and stared at her back, wondering what she could be doing. He startled her when he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back toward him.

Ayame pushed him away with more strength than she knew she had. Somehow, he didn't become angry and just stared at her with a contemplative look.

"You never told me what you wanted from me," she whispered quietly. Her voice sounded awfully unstable.

"I thought you would know that by now."

"Well, I don't. Is it my powers, or just me? You told me to give you more time that day in the well. Now I want my answer."

Sesshomaru couldn't answer her. It was hard for him to admit openly that he actually cared for a human. He was a demon lord, and what kind of lord would he be if he falls in love with a human? Not to mention a priestess.

"Take me to that temple." Sesshomaru thought he heard her wrong when he looked at her again. "I want to be able to use my powers."

"Then let's go." He grabbed his kimono top, which was on a nearby chair, and walked out of the room with Ayame behind him. He was glad that she finally changed the subject, but little did he know how much he hurt her when he didn't answer.

* * *

The sun was just rising outside as Sesshomaru carried Ayame through the woods to the temple on his back.

Ayame was crying silently, but the tears are quickly blown away by the strong wind. Her head felt like it was going to explode with so many thoughts, and her heart was torn apart between love and pain. She never knew she could fall in love with someone so fast. Yet, her heart was broken just as quickly.

She didn't know love could hurt so much. The only other person she'd actually dated was Rick, but what she felt for Rick was nothing compared to that deep-seated love she had for Sesshomaru. With Rick, she'd always been happy, content. She had confidence in Rick's love for her, but with Sesshomaru, nothing was what it seems. The happiness she'd always felt with Rick seems so far away right now in this world mixed with humans and demons.

This time, when they arrived at the bottom of the temple, Sesshomaru carefully put her down on the ground. "When will I see you again?" Ayame asked him in an unsteady voice.

"I'll always be near you. Just call if you need me." His voice was soothing, almost gentle. In some aspects, he was no longer the Sesshomaru she'd first met and helped. Yet he did not change so much that he was still not a demon lord through and through.

Ayame nodded and started walking up the stairs without saying anything more. When she looked back again, Sesshomaru was already gone. She wished he'd at least kissed her good-bye even though it might only be a short time before they see each other again, but he didn't. Maybe now he wouldn't mind a bit if she goes back to her world, but unfortunately, she had no idea where she was, so she just kept climbing until she was at the top.

Kahu was waiting outside the temple doors and frowned when he saw her. Obviously, he was waiting for her and hoping that she would not actually show up.

"I didn't think you would be back," he grumbled.

"Why? It's not every day that I can become a priestess," Ayame said innocently, almost eager.

Kahu didn't reply and just turned and opened the door behind him.

"Follow me."

Ayame followed him into the temple. The door slammed behind them and the sound echoed in the hallways around them. Darkness engulfed the inside of the temple with only some lights showing through from the slits in the doors behind them. At first, Ayame could barely see anything, but for some reason the place felt spacious. She didn't get the feeling she usually did when she was cramped into a small place.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she thought she saw a dark shadow behind her. However, when she turned around, nobody was there.

Kahu turned right to another smaller hallway. Neither of them spoke, but some while later, Ayame heard something behind her again. This time, she decided to ignore it. However, when Kahu stopped in front of a sliding door, Ayame definitely felt someone behind her. Slowly, she turned around just as Kahu opened the door in front of him and came face to face with the person who had almost hurt her the last time she visited. His looked more handsome in the dark, and mysterious.

"So you're back." He leveled an intent stare at her. She had to force herself not to look away even though she was somewhat scared of him.

"Come in, please."

Ayame ignored him and walked into the room upon hearing Priest Yasun. He followed her in like a shadow and closed the door behind him. Kahu had already disappeared somewhere, probably because his job was done. Yasun was sitting across the room from her with his legs crossed and his eyes closed as well. She walked forward a few steps because the guy behind her made her really uncomfortable. They both waited until Yasun finally opened his eyes and smiled at her kindly.

"So you've decided?"

"Yes. I want to stay here and train myself as a priestess," Ayame answered with more determination than she felt.

"But are you sure you want to be a priestess? You're not what a priestess should be."

Ayame was shocked. "What do you mean?"

Yasun smiled calmly and closed his eyes again. "A priestess should be someone with a pure heart. Someone who will sacrifice herself for the sake of others. Yet, your heart is no longer pure. It is filled with emotions that are unknown to a priestess."

"But I…!"

"Do not be hasty, child. I only stated what a priestess is, but I've never said that I will not help you. You can stay here for a year. What you do afterwards is not my concern, but I do hope you use your powers to help those in need."

Ayame sighed with relief. She wasn't entirely sure why but she wanted to stay and harness her powers. She wanted to help… but who? Who did she want to help? That was the true question. Sesshomaru? No, he didn't need her help. To kill demons? Yes, but to what extent? She didn't know.

Yasun's voice brought her back into the present. "I will not personally instruct you for the first few months. You will be spending time with Shin." Yasun pointed to the person beside her. "He will teach you all you need to know at the beginning."

"And what exactly is that?"

Priest Yasun didn't answer and just waved her off.

"Let's go. I'll take you to your room," Shin said behind her.

Ayame followed him out. This time, he took a left turn not far from Yasun's room. There were two rooms in this hallway. The doors were right across from one another. Shin opened the door to the left one and said politely but still distantly, "This one is yours. Kahu and I are in the other room. If you need anything, just call."

Ayame looked inside and frowned. The room was way too small by her stands. If it was back home, it would probably only be enough to have her bed and desk in there, if barely. Shin clearly noticed her displeasure as he said afterwards, "This is a temple. Not a palace."

"Where can I take baths?"

"There is a hot spring behind the temple. There is also a waterfall on the other side of the mountain."

Ayame just nodded. "Will I have to do anything today?"

Shin for the first time looked thoughtful. "If you like, I could take you to explore around the place."

She thought about it and nodded since she didn't have anything else to do at all. She'd be grateful to find anything that could take her mind off of Sesshomaru.

Shin took her to another hallway and soon they were outside beside the hot spring. It was very small, only a bit bigger than Jacuzzi.

"Kahu and I usually don't use this, but it's his job to keep it clean every day," Shin said, as if reading her mind. Then, somewhere through another door, they faced a trail leading deep into the mountain behind the temple.

"Let's go." Shin brightened up at the sight of the mountain. He ran forward, so she just followed him. Soon, as they walked, Shin told her about all the plants, about the demons, and everything that she should watch out for in the mountain.

"Aren't you afraid?" She asked him.

"No. I've been at this place too long to be afraid." He kind of smiled. Ayame finally noticed how good-looking he was, but not as good as Sesshomaru of course.

"Why are you here?"

"To get stronger."

"What for?

"Revenge."

The vehemence behind that one single world surprised her, along with the hatred in his eyes. When she looked at him confusingly, he explained, "When I was about five, my entire village was raided by this dog demon. As far as I know, Kahu and I are the only survivors. He was only a baby when it happened, so he doesn't really remember."

"Are you two brothers?"

Shin shook his head. "No. His family was my neighbor."

"So you're here so you can kill the demon, right? How did you find him?"

He smirked. "That's the easy part. The demon is the Lord of the Western Lands."

This made her stop and turn pale. _That's Sesshomaru!_

"Are you all right?" Shin stopped when Ayame stopped moving.

"Uh…I'm just fine. Great!" Ayame tried to stop, but she knew it didn't work from the suspicion on Shin's face. _What am I so worried about? I don't even know if it's Sesshomaru or not. Even if it is, Shin could never hurt him. _Thinking that, she started running again because she could no longer think of anything to say without giving something away. However, she tripped on some vines and fell down out of the trail and started to roll down the hill.

"Ayame!"

Ayame barely heard Shin shouting her name. She didn't know how long until she finally stopped rolling, but amazingly, she didn't hit her head at all. However, her left leg wasn't so lucky. When she tried to stand up, a wave of pain shot up her leg. She lifted up the yukata a little bit and saw that her leg was bleeding profusely.

"Great! Just great!" Ayame mumbled and sighed. _Why is this always happening to me?_ Hot tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly, knowing that crying won't help her solve anything.

This time, she tried to stand up again slowly and carefully. Just when she thought she could do it, the pain became too much and she fell downward, but somebody caught her around her waist.

"If you can't do it, then don't," Shin said with annoyance and helped her sit down again.

"It's not like it's my fault."

"Oh, so I pushed you down?"

"I didn't say that either."

Shin ignored her comment and said, "It's a long way up. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Duh! Why do you think I can't even stand up?" Ayame shouted angrily and showed him her leg, which was still bleeding.

The tears overwhelmed her again and she held back a sob, but he noticed them anyways. His calm face suddenly became troubled. "Look, don't cry! It's going to be all right." His voice had a hint of nervousness as he tore off the sleeve of his yukata and wiped the blood gently from her leg.

"No! It's not going to be all right!" Ayame couldn't stop herself now that the floodgate was open. She didn't even mind the pain from her leg whenever Shin touched it. "I'm stuck here, in a place I don't even know, with people I don't know, and I can't go home. Now my leg is all broken. I can't even stand up. How is it going to be all right?" She wailed, not caring what she was saying.

"What do you mean you can't go home? Nobody begged you to come here." Shin didn't look at her as he was still trying to stop her leg from bleeding. He seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid comforting her. Guess he didn't really know what to do when a girl cries. Ayame doubted if he'd even seen a girl cry before.

"There, now it's not bleeding anymore," he said after wrapping a clean piece of cloth around her leg, but she didn't hear him and continued to sob. "Come on. Stop that."

Ayame looked up at him as if he was crazy. "Are you just plain stupid?"

"Look, lady, I'm a trained killer, not a ladies' man." His voice had an edge to it.

"Killer? Then why don't you kill me if I bother you so much?" _Killer, what does he mean by that? _

Shin frowned. "You think I don't want to? Except I can't. Now stop crying and let's go!"

Ayame didn't budge from where she was sitting. There was no way that she would listen to him when he treated her this way, even Sesshomaru wouldn't do this to her. Never mind, of course he did, but anyway, that wasn't the point.

He glared at her with frustration. "Well, what do you want?"

"I don't want anything," she said petulantly.

"Then why are you crying?"

"I just…" How could she answer that? She couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't tell him that she was actually from the future, they she was doing this for a demon who might be the one that destroyed his village.

Before she could think of an acceptable answer, Shin walked over and bent down beside her, placing one arm behind her back and the other under her knees.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ayame shouted as he lifted her up from the ground.

"Since you can't walk, I'll just carry you down the mountain," he said matter-of-factly as he picked his way through the trees.

"But you can't…"

"Don't worry. You're as light as a feather." He smiled at her.

_Maybe he's not so bad after all. _She leaned against him lightly and closed her eyes. At this moment, she wasn't worried about Sesshomaru or anything else. Slowly, the pain from her leg ebbed away as she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Two months had passed since the day Ayame arrived at the temple. In these last two months, Shin had taught her nothing about her powers. Instead, he acted more like a physical trainer. Every morning after her leg healed, he woke her up before the sun is up. Then the two of them ran around the mountain twice. At first, Ayame couldn't do it at all, but after about two weeks or so, she became used to it. So about two weeks ago, he changed the course from two laps to five.

Other than running, the two of them explored the mountain and fought some small demons. Sometimes Shin always surprised her with his abilities. He might not have her power against the demons, but his physical attacks were just as deadly. He taught her a lot of skills that she didn't know existed, ones he told her that were used by the youkai exterminators. Even though he taught her nothing specific to her power, she realized that after these two months she had more control over her power, as if her physical discipline allowed her to better understand the potential within her. This must have been what Priest Yasun had planned by having Shin training her.

Last night, Shin led her to a cave where a strong youkai lived. He told her that this was a youkai he was never able to kill, only wound it occasionally. He thought that after these months she could help him kill it. However, unfortunately, she was scared out of her mind when she realized the demon was in the shape of a spider, which she was terrified of. Because of her, Shin was wounded. This time, she had to help him escape and get back to the temple.

The next morning, Ayame got up before dawn and went jogging. Afterwards, she went to the waterfall in the middle of the mountain and took a quick bath before going back to check on Shin. Kahu had left with Yasun two days ago to go somewhere, but Shin wouldn't tell her. They still didn't trust her and expected her to leave any minute.

When Ayame returned to the temple, she went to the kitchen and prepared Shin some medicine for his wounds. As she prepared the medicine, she thought about Sesshomaru. She hadn't seen him once ever since he left her here. Even though she hated to admit it, but she missed him a lot. Maybe he forgot about her. After all, she was just a puny human. Once she was out of his sight, why should he even think about her? All these doubts returned to her. All she wanted to do was to see him and ask him these questions herself.

When the medicine was ready, Ayame walked slowly to Shin's room while still deep in thought. She didn't even notice Shin standing right in front her and almost spilled the medicine on him.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be up!" she scolded him.

"I'm not the kind of person to lie in bed all day," Shin grumbled, but went back to his room nonetheless and sat on the bed with his back against the wall.

"Then maybe you should consider not getting hurt."

"It was your fault. Who knows you could be scared of a spider?"

"It's not just any spider. It was gigantic, OK? With saliva dripping out its mouth and eight giant hairy legs!" So saying, she undid the bandages around his chest and grabbed some clean ones.

"There are other demons more disgusting than that."

Shin laughed at the horrified look on her face. "It's not funny," she grumbled, pulling extra hard to tighten the bandages, which caused him to wince from the pain.

"You don't seem like to be someone from a youkai exterminator family," Shin said, still with a teasing smile on his face.

"What makes you say that?"

"It's easy. You're afraid of youkais, especially the bug kind, like the one we fought yesterday."

"I'm not afraid of youkais or bugs! Besides, tons of other exterminators do that too!" she argued back indignantly.

"Look, there's a spider on your arm!"

Ayame screamed and dropped the bandages she was holding. "Where?" She brushed her arm incessantly while searching for the spider.

Shin laughed, a sound she rarely heard in the last two months.

Ayame glared at him. "It's not funny!" She hit him hard.

"Ouch!" Too bad she hit him on the shoulder, exactly where the deepest wound was, making him collapse on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that!" Ayame bent down beside him and apologized.

"Yes you did." His voice was muffled since his face was against the floor. "To think that I would help a savage like you to do anything," he added later while he lay face down on the floor comfortably as she applied the salve on his back.

"I didn't ask you to help me. Who knows what Master Yasun is thinking?"

"He just wants you to be strong both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of discipline to use the special power granted to priestesses."

"Hmm?" She didn't think she heard him right.

"I said Master Yasun wants you to be prepared. You're lucky to have that power against demons, but none of that will work if your reflexes are slow. You always want to keep other options open, like you could actually run away or fight a demon if your priestess powers are not working or not strong enough."

"That makes sense, I guess."

"As for me, I'm not as lucky as you. All the seals and wards I use are easily broken, so now you see."

Ayame put down the medicine bowl and studied him. "You said you're a killer, an assassin, right? What do you mean by that?"

Shin turned so that he was on his back and looking at her. She noticed how young he looked, young but determined. He was probably the same as her, maybe younger, but with a goal in life, and something to live for. "As you know, I've always wanted revenge, but before that I am Master Yasun's student, but he treats Kahu and me like sons. When I was 14, Master Yasun told me that he makes a living by exorcising demons. He was also an assassin when he was younger. He told me of all the evil in this world, the demons, and also men who are corrup. You might have never seen them, but people often come to this temple to ask us to exorcize demons. Or, if their lord is corrupt, we take care of it for them, sometimes for a fortune, other times for free."

"And I thought you people are so good."

Shin smiled sadly. This was the first time she saw that expression on his face. It gave her a different impression of him. Rather than the strong fighter that he tries to let the rest of the world see him as, now he was more like a little boy, lost and afraid. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him since she grew up with everything she'd ever wanted. Maybe this was her punishment.

"Do you have something against us then?" His question penetrated her thoughts.

"No. You are doing this for the good of others, but I know I'll never be able to get over my fears. If one of the demons I had to exorcize is a spider like last night, I'll be running away as fast as I could," Ayame said this with a smile, trying to cheer him up.

Shin chuckled at your silliness. "We haven't killed that demon yet. You want to give it another try after I get better?"

"No!" She hit him playfully again, but this time he was ready. He caught her wrist and suddenly pulled her toward him. She fell on him. He rolled them over on the floor so that he was on top.

"Shin…" Ayame whispered nervously, her breathing suddenly heavy. This position was very awkward.

He didn't say anything, but his eyes were studying her intently. Slowly, he leaned forward toward her until his lips touched hers. All the while Ayame was frozen in place and didn't know what to do. The kiss was gentle and sweet, completely different from the way Sesshomaru kissed her.

_Sesshomaru!!!_ At the thought of him, she pushed Shin off harshly. Neither of them said a word. He looked rather calm, like he always did, while she was in turmoil. She missed Sesshomaru so much. Now Shin was doing this to her. She couldn't take it anymore. With tears threatening to come out, she rushed out of the room.

Outside, Ayame kept on running without knowing where. She just wanted to get away from everything. What was Shin thinking? Yet, she couldn't blame him because he didn't know anything. He was faultless because he didn't know anything about her. She was the one who lied to him, to everyone at the temple.

When she couldn't run anymore, she started walking aimlessly again. Yet, before she could get very far away, somebody stepped in front of her.

"Go away!" She didn't even bother looking up to see who it was, whether it was some bandits or demons.

"You are not allowed to go any further."

Ayame finally looked up with curiosity. It was a demon, but one in human shape. He was tall, with soulless black eyes and black hair. He was dressed in a normal kimono. Some might mistaken him for a normal man except for the facial markings he had similar to Sesshomaru's, which marked him as a demon, not to mention her power also sensed the demonic blood within him.

"Not allowed?"

"Lord Sesshomaru's orders," he replied with a blank expression.

Now she knew why Sesshomaru didn't come for her. He didn't forget her. He simply sent some of his servants to enslave her in this place. "If your lord wants me to stay here, tell him to come himself. You're not stopping him!" She spit back at him, suddenly very angry.

The first hint of expression showed in his eyes, which was amusement. "Really?"

"Don't tempt me!" Ayame glared at him. _How dare he just leave me here?_

"I would like to see you try!" He walked forward menacingly.

Ayame stepped back a little. She started to push him and did everything she could to get away from him, but he was faster than her and also stronger. Her priestess powers didn't do her any good for some reason. No matter what she thought they refused to surface. However, she did hurt him. She scratched him on the face, punched, kicked and even bit him. Finally, after struggling for a long time, he succeeded in pinning her against a tree. His eyes were glowing red with anger.

"Put her down, Majeh!"

Faintly, Ayame heard Sesshomaru's voice since she was running out of air and feeling light-headed. Then the hand around her throat loosened and everything started to go back to normal.

"My lord." The demon bowed to Sesshomaru, so she wasn't dreaming up his voice after all.

"Leave us," Sesshomaru ordered. Then the demon called Majeh disappeared.

"Why are you here? Don't you have all your servants looking after me?" Ayame asked him with disgust.

"It's none of your concern." His answer was monotonous, much like the first time she had met him.

She laughed with sarcasm to hide her tears. "I'm sure you're just checking with your servants to see how I'm doing. Why don't I just tell you myself?" She paused for a second. When he didn't speak, she shouted, "I hate this fucking place! I want to go home! I'm not of any use to you!"

"No. You should go back to the temple." He turned away and started to leave. The high-handed manner that he handled this set her off.

Even though she knew his answer from the beginning, she still had to tell him, to demand it. She finally decided that she will not let him go unless he gave her an answer. What did he want from her? He certainly didn't need anything. He wasn't looking for the Shikon shards for power. Was he just doing this for fun?

She chased after him and grabbed him. "TAKE ME BACK!" She screamed and started hitting him as hard as she could. She hated him for doing this to you. She hated his "I don't care about you" attitude.

At first, Sesshomaru looked shocked at her behavior, but then he pushed her away from him forcefully. She literally flew into the air until her back hit a tree. Then she fell back on the ground with a thud. She started to cry finally, ignoring the pain from her back.

"Why…are you…doing this to me? What…did I ever do to you…? Why…don't…you just…kill me instead of…torturing me like this?" Ayame sobbed while trying to wipe away the tears, but they just kept coming down.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Sesshomaru looking at her. His eyes were soft and caring, but she refused to fall for this again.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She jerked away from him and stood up. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

The soft expression on his face disappeared and was instantly replaced with rage. His eyes flashed a dangerous red. She could not possibly imagine what made him this mad.

He suddenly floated up into the air and looked down at her with hatred, the same way he always looked at Inuyasha. "Then die." A whip appeared in his hand and slashed downward at her.

Ayame screamed in agony as the whip pierced her cloth and bit into her soft skin. "So you're going to kill me now? Is that it?"

"I should've done this from the beginning."

The whip lashed at her again. She didn't bother moving away because there was no escape from this. Sesshomaru continued to lash her with the whip while she shouted something back at him. Slowly, her cloth was torn apart while deep red welts appeared all over her body. She finally backed up against a tree as the pain became unbearable.

Ayame started to cry and stopped screaming at him. "Stop it…" She finally gave up. He was not killing her. Instead, he was torturing her like he had always done, which was actually worse than killing her.

"Stop it…" she muttered again, but he didn't stop. Rather, it felt that he was hitting her harder than before, or was it just her perception? She couldn't tell the difference anymore.

"I'll never hurt you." She remembered Sesshomaru's promise that time when he saved her from Naraku, but he was doing exactly the opposite now. No, he'd always hurt her, if not physically then emotionally, because she had liked him from the first time she set eyes on him, but his coldness toward her hurt her more than she could ever know.

"Liar…" The word came out as a whisper. Then she screamed it out with the last of her strength. The whipping finally stopped.

She looked up at him, her misery shone forth from every part of her body. "You said you'd never hurt me," she mouthed those words before darkness completely swallowed her.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think? I know, the last part is a bit gruesome, but it'll all work out. I promise. Anyway, I'll try to make my updates regular, so between a week and two, instead of several months.**

**Remember to REVIEW!!!!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Another chapter in a week, like I promised.  
**

**Disclaimer (A bit late, but still): I do not own any part of Inuyasha whatsoever. All rights are with the mangaka.  
**

**Warning: In chapter, there is a lemon. If it offends you in anyway, please skip it. You won't miss anything important. Please note that this story is rated M, so as a heads up, there will probably be other lemons in the future. **

**Now that's out of the way, please enjoy!**

**Chapter Seven**

Ayame was trapped in the darkness, engulfed in it. Everything was quiet, too quiet. She shivered. She walked, but there was no way to tell if she was moving forward or not. The darkness around here didn't change. It gave her the creeps. It reminded her of all the horrible beings and scenes that she'd seen before in horror movies.

Then, almost instantly, the darkness disappeared as if it had never been. Ayame moved her hand to shield her eyes from the sudden light, but she was holding an arrow and a bow, ready to fire. The arrow was completely covered in a purple aura. Kagome was right beside her in the same position. She looked at her target and gasped.

It was Sesshomaru!

However, he looked different. She sensed an immense evil emanating from him like never before. His eyes glowed red, but he looked as if he was in pain, as if he was struggling with himself for something. Then she realized the reason. He had the Shikon no Tama embedded in his heart, where her arrow was aimed at.

Tears rolled down her eyes, knowing what she was going to do. She couldn't control her body, couldn't stop. Even though she struggled against it, she let the arrow fly. Kagome's arrow was right beside hers. The two arrows headed for Sesshomaru's heart together. Sesshomaru dodged, but the arrows followed him until it caught up to him. One pierced him from the front and the other from the back. However, the arrows went through his physical body and hit the Shikon no Tama. Then they harmlessly dropped out of Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru collapsed as the arrows left his body. A pool of blood began to form beneath him. Ayame dropped her bow and ran toward him as tears blinded her.

"Sesshomaru!" she screamed, wanting him to open his eyes.

Just as she reached him, Sesshomaru disappeared and she was left staring at a blank wall. It took a second for her brain to realize that it was just a dream. She sighed with relief as she recognized the familiar looking room. She must be back at Sesshomaru's castle, but how did she get back here? The last thing she remembered was…

Along with her remembrance came the pain, both physical and mental. So he didn't let her die after all. He should've just left her there to die. Why did he have to bring her back here? How long had she been here? She was wrapped up in bandages. There wasn't a part of her that didn't hurt. Yet, despite all that, she wanted to get away. She didn't want to be here. If Sesshomaru came, he would just start torturing her again. Maybe he was sadistic, and she was just now finding out about his true nature.

Ayame wanted to scream as she moved to get off the bed. The pain was unbearable, but she must get out of here. Slowly, step by step, she made it to the door, but found that it was locked. _Great! Just what I need right now!_

There was nothing on her side of the door to indicate a lock, so it must mean that it was locked form the outside. She leaned against the door, not having any more strength to move. She was trapped here. He didn't want her to escape. Then she heard the sound of a bolt being removed from the other side. Somebody was here! The thought of getting away filled her mind. The door started to open, except she was still leaning against it and it was opening to the outside. Before she could move, she started falling forward. She had no strength to stop her fall. Resignation set in. She simply stared at the ground and dimly wondered how much it would hurt when someone caught her around the waist gently.

Ayame knew it was Sesshomaru without looking up. Yet, when she saw his face, different emotions assailed her, whether it was anger, pain, or joy, she couldn't tell at all. Anger and pain because he had hurt her so much; joy because he was here and not dead like in her dream. But before she could even say anything, he lifted her up princess style and laid her gently back on the bed. His demeanor was completely different from the last time when he was killing her.

"You shouldn't be up yet. You're still much too weak," he said softly as he pulled the white silk sheet over her body. Then he turned to leave, but Ayame grabbed his hand, stopping him.

She asked in a whisper that was barely audible, "Did you…did you take care of me?"

There was a moment before Sesshomaru actually answered, but she saw what she needed to know. There was a hint of sorrow and regret in his golden eyes. "Yes."

"Why? Weren't you angry? Why didn't you just kill me?" Afraid that he wouldn't answer, she begged, " Please… just answer me this time…"

"Because I…"

"Ayame!" Ayame groaned. Rin skipped into the room happily before Sesshomaru could finish talking. The expression on Sesshomaru's face was one of relief while Ayame tried to hide her annoyance. She liked Rin, but the little girl had the worst timing. She had to butt in just when Ayame was finally about to get her answer from Sesshomaru.

"Hey, how are you, sweetie?" Ayame smiled as naturally as she could as Rin climbed on the bed. She winced from pain when Rin accidentally touched her wrist.

"Sorry, Ayame," she apologized quickly with the innocence of a child. Then a smile brightened her small face. "I'm fine. How are you feeling? I was so worried when Sesshomaru-sama brought you back two days ago like that. I thought you were dead."

Ayame glanced at Sesshomaru, wondering why she was surprised that Sesshomaru didn't tell Rin the truth, but Rin didn't need to know. Not now. Sesshomaru can still be a hero in her eyes.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

Rin was about to say something else when Sesshomaru interrupted her, "Rin, go play outside. Ayame is fine, but she still needs rest. She'll be up in another few days."

Rin looked disappointed, but obeyed nonetheless. "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama." She then walked out of the room like a little lady and closed the door behind her.

"So you were saying?" Ayame asked Sesshomaru after they were alone once again. She wasn't about to let him get away that easily.

Sesshomaru sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her with so much love that she suddenly didn't need an answer. Whether Sesshomaru voiced his feelings or not, she knew what they were, even if he refused to admit them to himself. Yet, why did she still feel the need to hear him say the words?

Without saying anything, Sesshomaru leaned down. Ayame closed her eyes, in anticipation for his kiss. He kissed her, but only on her forehead. "We'll talk about this after you get better. Right now, you need some rest," he said, his eyes capturing hers while his hand softly brushed back her hair.

Ayame nodded, suddenly feeling the tiredness setting in. However, before he stood up, she clutched both of his hands in hers and found herself saying, "I don't hate you, Sesshomaru. I don't."

She knew that this was the dream speaking, but it had scared her so much. It was unbearable to even contemplate the thought of losing him.

"I know."

With that, he left.

* * *

A week later, Ayame was finally healed enough that she was no longer dressed in bandages and could move around freely for a while before she had to rest. The wounds left scars at some places, but they only needed a longer time to heal. Other than that, she was perfectly healed. In the past week, Sesshomaru never came back to see her, which made her really anxious. One night, after taking off all of her bandages, she bathed and then headed for Sesshomaru's room.

When she was there, she knocked on the door nervously while thinking about what she was going to say.

"Come in," Sesshomaru ordered from inside.

Ayame opened the door slightly and saw him sitting in a chair in front of a round table. He was clearly surprised to see her here since she had never visited him in his room before. She took a little time and looked around the room. She wasn't ready to speak yet.

The place was beautifully decorated. A four-poster bed was at the far end of the room covered in blue silk. The room had three bookshelves. Two of them had tons of antique wares on them while the other one was filled with tomes. The walls of the room had dragons and dog demons carved on them. Ayame never thought that a place could be so simple yet elegant. Near the door and beside the window, there was a round table with two chairs on each side of it. Sesshomaru was sitting in one of those chairs.

"Did you need something?" Sesshomaru asked as he stood up and walked toward her. He didn't want her here. She shouldn't be here. He still wasn't sure why he had stopped that time. His own actions confused him. She was a human. She meant nothing to him. She couldn't mean anything to him. Yet, a part of him, the part that he tried not to listen to, knew that he was lying to himself.

"I thought we were going to talk after…I get better," Ayame stared at the floor and muttered.

Sesshomaru sighed. Why did he think that she'd just forget about it and let him be? Another reason why he hated humans. They could be so damned persistent.

Looking at Sesshomaru, Ayame realized that this was probably harder on him than she thought. When he didn't speak, she finally said, "If you don't want to, I'll go."

"No." He lifted her chin so that she was looking at him instead of staring down at the floor. _What am I doing? I should just let her go. _Yet his body moved before he could stop.

His eyes were filled with sorrow again. The look on his face made her want to just wrap her arms around him and kiss him.

"Ayame, I apologize for hitting you, but I saw you with that man. I was already angry. When you said you hated me, I couldn't stop myself." The words poured forth. Sesshomaru was partly aghast at what he said, but he couldn't stop. _Might as well get this over with. _"I missed you these last two months." Then he realized that it was the truth. He did miss her. In the short amount of time they'd spent together, she had somehow became a permanent fixture in his life. When she wasn't here, his life had felt empty and void.

Ayame held back a sob at his declaration. She was so happy. She literally jumped on him and started to kiss him like there was no tomorrow. Sesshomaru was shocked at first, but then kissed her hungrily. He welcomed this. He understood physical attraction, and he had wanted her the first time she had healed him. His tongue probed against her teeth insistently until she opened her mouth to let him in. He lifted her without breaking the kiss and carried her to the bed, laying her down gently, as if she was precious and would break at any moment.

Sesshomaru's hands roamed her body, tracing her curve slowly and pulling away her kimono at the same time. Ayame moaned as his finger trailed down her neck and around the curves of her breast. "I want you," he murmured in his deep and husky voice. His eyes were full of love and desire.

Ayame's lips curved into a slow smile. "You have me. I was yours the first time I met you."

With a growl, Sesshomaru dragged her against him into another fiery kiss. This time, he completely took off her kimono and threw it on the ground. Ayame was completely naked beneath her one layer of cloth. She moaned into him when his finger brushed against her most sensitive spot. At the same time, she undressed him as quickly as possible. She wanted to touch him badly, to feel his naked flesh against hers. Yet, her hands shook from her nervousness so that Sesshomaru had to help her get his cloth off.

When she was almost done, Sesshomaru suddenly moved away. Ayame whimpered a protest as his heat left her. "What are you doing?"

"I want to look at you," he said, his gaze burning into hers, then moving down, as if judging her body, but that hot look never left his eyes.

Ayame was very uncomfortable under his gaze. She wanted to cover herself up. She didn't know why she was so nervous with Sesshomaru. She had never felt like this with Rick. Her heart literally felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She was about to find something to cover herself with when Sesshomaru leaned down and took one of her nipples in his mouth. She almost arched off the bed at the shock. Pleasure quickly spread from that spot. She found her entire attention focused on that one point of contact, as if her life depended on it.

His hands slowly ran up her thighs and trailed the curves of her pelvis. Slowly, at a snail's pace, his hand moved closer and closer to the spot that ached for his touch, but he refused to allow her that one luxury and teased her.

"Sesshomaru, please…" she begged, wrapping her arms around him and pressing his body against hers. Her body was no longer hers. It was no longer under any sort of control. And it only wanted one thing.

Sesshomaru.

Blindly, as if knowing how to motivate him, she wrapped her hand around his manhood. He growled with desire, the sound vibrating up from where he was still suckling on her nipple. Finally, he slid a finger inside of her as his thumb caressed her clit.

Ayame's body moved on its own, following the rhythm he set with his hand. However, just as she was about to reach the peak, he pulled away. "No," she whimpered in protest.

Sesshomaru didn't waste any time but lifted her legs over his shoulder, spreading her wide open for him. At the feeling of his manhood against her opening, Ayame tried to urge him to move faster, but he held her hips and pushed in bit by bit, savoring her exquisite tightness. To Ayame, the feeling of him inside of her was the most wondrous thing she'd ever felt.

When he suddenly pulled out of her completely, she protested, but he immediately drove back in, going deeper inside of her each time. She wrapped her arms around him and urged him on. Faster and faster. Until it felt like a cyclone was sucking them inside of its whirlwind. They were both going out of control. Sesshomaru claimed her mouth once again as he moved faster, driving them closer and closer to the peak.

Ayame screamed into his mouth when her body convulsed and splintered into a thousand pieces. Her body's convulsion triggered his orgasm. Sesshomaru roared triumphantly as his body shuddered and his seeds spilled into her. Then he collapsed on top of her, his body drained of strength.

A little bit later, when the two of them had both regained some strength, Ayame snuggled against his chest with his muscular arms around her waist. They were both satisfied by their explosive coupling minutes before, but his body was already stirring around her once again.

"Sesshomaru?" Ayame looked at him as he brushed back her hair and kissed her softly on her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Remember when I said that I was yours from the first time I met you?" she stammered and played with his hair nervously. His silver hair was soft and silky. She absolutely loved it. However, now she was just avoiding the topic, but she wasn't sure if she should tell him or not, but she figured that now was as a good time as any.

"I love you," she declared. She studied his face intently and saw no change whatsoever. She wasn't sure if this was good or bad until finally he lips curved in a soft smile, "I know."

Sesshomaru didn't understand why he was so pleased at her declaration of love. However, from the look on her face, "I know" clearly wasn't the answer she had been waiting for, but he couldn't possibly say the same words to her. He couldn't even contemplate the thought of himself falling in love with a youkai, much less a human, so there was no way he could return those words.

Nonetheless, when he saw the sadness once again returning to Ayame's eyes, he wanted to comfort her. The only thing he could do now was to please her with his body. He hoped that was enough for now.

* * *

The next morning Ayame woke up in Sesshomaru's arms when he was still asleep. Looking at him, she silently prayed that she would wake up with him beside her every morning from now on for the rest of her life. Yet, that was impossible. Sesshomaru would probably forget about her when she gets old. Frowning at herself for thinking those unhappy thoughts again, she pushed them to the corner of her mind. Right now, she just wanted to be happy with Sesshomaru, with what they have. Screw the future.

She looked at his serene face. He looked nothing like the menacing Lord of the Western Lands when he was sleeping peacefully like this. At the same time, when she recalled everything that had happened last night, her face started to flame again.

Smiling to herself, Ayame brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen in front of his face. However, before she could even touch him, his hand shot up and grabbed her wrist painfully as his eyes jerked open in alarm. Ayame yelped in pain as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. He must have broken a bone or two when he grabbed her. There was no other explanation for this pain.

When Sesshomaru saw that it was only Ayame, his eyes softened and he released her wrist. He felt guilty about scaring her like this, but he had moved on instinct when his body realized that someone was trying to touch him. His hand had shot up in self-defense. As a demon lord, he could never let his guard down. It was a matter of survival.

Ayame rubbed her wrist and wiped away the tears. If this was what it would be like for every morning, then she wasn't so sure that she wanted to spend the rest of her life this way.

"Did I hurt you?" His voice was full of concern.

"Yes," she muttered, showing him the purple bruises that were already forming around her wrist.

Sesshomaru looked at it and planted a feather-light kiss on it, which made her shiver. His influence on her was disturbing. Just the simplest touch from him could set her body on fire. Little did she know that she had the same influence on him.

Leisurely, Sesshomaru kissed his way up her arm until he got to her shoulder and rolled on top of her. Even though he'd spent the entire night discovering her body, he still hadn't had enough of her. Ayame's heart started beating wildly again. At this rate, she might as well die of a heart attack.

However, the door handle turned and the maid from days before walked in. She stopped when she saw Sesshomaru and Ayame in bed together.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru's voice was back to deadly like before. Ayame wondered how he could have gone from hot to cold in the blink of an eye. He was completely different from yesterday. Then again, this was his true self before she showed up in his life.

"I didn't know you had company, Sesshomaru-sama," the demon answered rudely, giving Ayame a killing glare.

"Leave." Sesshomaru's command was not to be disobeyed.

The demon gave Ayame one last disgusted look and strutted out of the door as if she owned the place. Ayame thought Sesshomaru was going to get back to what he was doing earlier. Instead, he got out of the bed and got dressed.

"I have some things to take care of. Take a bath and go down to breakfast. I'll be back late," Sesshomaru explained as he dressed.

"Where are you going?"

"Settling some business…"

Ayame didn't like the way he said it and remembered Shin. _He wouldn't…_

"Wait, you're not going to…" Her voice faltered. She gulped and said, "The temple, are you?"

"What if I am? Would you care if I killed that human boy?"

"But he didn't do anything wrong!" Ayame argued. "He didn't know anything."

"He's a human, and he touched you! I will not forgive that."

"But I c…" Ayame stopped, knowing that it wouldn't help if she made Sesshomaru madder, but he already knew what she was going to say. His eyes flashed red for a second before returning to the beautiful golden color she loved so much.

"What I do with the boy is none of your concern," he said and left before Ayame could retort, slamming the door behind him.

_I hope Shin's going to be all right._ Ayame thought as she got out of bed and went to the bathroom, feeling helpless and guilty, especially if anything were to happen to Shin, Kahu, or Yasun.

She took a quick bath and found a new navy blue yukata with dragons embroidered at the bottom. Looking at the cloth, she remembered her school uniform, but it was really no use worrying about it now since she was obviously not going back home for a long shot. Sighing, she dressed and found her way downstairs.

Rin was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. When she saw Ayame, she ran up to Ayame happily and full of energy. "How are you, Ayame?" Rin asked as Ayame took her little hand in hers. The two of them walked toward the dining hall.

"I'm fine, Rin. What about you? I've only seen you once after I came back."

"I'm just bored because Jaken wouldn't play with me. Where did you go for the past two months? I missed you so much. Will you be staying longer this time?"

"I think so."

Ayame and Rin entered the kitchen and saw all the food on the table. Ayame hadn't realized how hungry she was. She and Rin sat down across from each other and ate in relative silence, both enjoying their food too much to talk.

The day passed slowly since Ayame just played with Rin and did nothing else. There really wasn't much for Ayame to do at that place, until she found the library after Rin fell asleep after dinner. The room had a very high-ceiling like a ballroom with shelves along every wall. They were completely filled with books. At the other side of the room was a fire place with a comfortable looking chair not far away. There was also a desk with tons of papers stacked on there.

Ayame looked at each shelf carefully, trying to find something that she would like to read when the door opened. She looked back and saw Sesshomaru standing there.

"Found anything you like?" He was obviously pleased with something because he had a light smile on his face.

"Not yet," she answered. "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing," he said and suddenly lifted her up from the ground and started to walk out of the library.

"Wait! Where are we going?"

"My room."

"Your room?" she squeaked.

"To finish what we started this morning."

Ayame didn't even realize how fast he was walking until he kicked open the door to his room. "Just exactly what did you do today?" She was really curious as to what could have made him this happy. Sesshomaru wasn't the kind of person, uh…demon to do this without a reason.

"I got rid of some problems," he said blithely, placing her on the bed and climbing on top of her.

"Problems? Wait, you didn't…" Ayame never got the chance to finish her sentence as he stopped her with a mind-blowing kiss that swept away all of her thoughts.

For the rest of the night, she did not think of anything except for him.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the window. Ayame groaned and rolled over in bed as the light stung her eyes. She was extremely tired since she had stayed up really late last night. Well, more like Sesshomaru kept her up that late.

"Wake up, Ayame." Sesshomaru kissed her lightly. She opened her eyes and stared into his golden ones. Her face instantly turned a deep burgundy as she remembered the wild love making from last night.

"I see you enjoyed last night," Sesshomaru said with a low chuckle, which only made her blush harder.

Ayame pushed him off of her and sat up in bed with the sheets wrapped around her nude body, still feeling tired. "You can't say you didn't enjoy it," she mumbled. At the same time, her senses and priorities returned to her. "Forget about that. You still haven't told me just exactly what you did yesterday."

"You're very persistent," he said as he dressed.

"Just tell me."

"I barely made it so that you don't have to return to that temple anymore."

"You didn't kill them… did you?"

"No. Why should I kill them and let them off so easily?" He smirked with arrogance.

Panic rose up inside of her. "You can't do that! They didn't do anything wrong. They helped me."

"They didn't help you enough. Besides, they're humans."

Ayame felt the usual dread sinking in. "But I'm a human too. Would you treat me in the same way?"

Sesshomaru saw the sorrow and despair on her face. His heart ached for her. How could she, a little human, make him feel this way? He would do anything to erase those expressions from her face.

"No, you're special."

That only appeased Ayame a little, but she knew better than to argue with him right now. Instead, she dressed as well, and the two of them went down to eat breakfast. Then they watched Rin play around, or rather, abuse Jaken, while talking a little bit about their lives. Sesshomaru didn't talk much. He mainly listened to Ayame talking about her world, and kept her talking by asking her questions. He liked to hear about her world, to hear her voice, albeit the future did sound rather bizarre.

However, every time she mentioned her fiancé Rick, he felt unreasonable angry just thinking that another man had touched her in the way he had. If he were to ever see this Rick person again, he would tear him apart without mercy.

"Don't ever mention him in front of me again," Sesshomaru interrupted when Ayame started with another story of Rick.

She stopped talking for just a second. Then the exasperating woman had the nerve to laugh at him. Sesshomaru's expression darkened, which told Ayame that she should change the subject, except the question she asked didn't really relieve the tension but actually made it worse. "Why do you hate your brother so much?"

Sesshomaru didn't even stop to think. "He's a hanyou, a mixed breed of human and demon. He shouldn't be allowed to live."

"But…" Ayame wanted to protest, thinking about the two of them and their future, but her instinct told her to stop. It was better to just savor the moment and forget about the future. Who knows when she'd have to leave this place and go back to her time?

"Come with me." Sesshomaru suddenly stood up and started to leave. She scrambled up and ran to keep up with his longer strides. He headed toward the waterfall at the back of the castle. When the two of them arrived at the bottom of the waterfall, Sesshomaru dragged her into his arms and whispered, "Hold on tight."

Ayame did exactly as she was told, wrapping her arms around his waist. Then he jumped.

She closed her eyes in fear since she was never that good with heights, but they landed several seconds later. She opened her eyes and saw a river running beside them. The river's current was very strong and the sound of the waterfall was even louder.

"Where are we?" she asked Sesshomaru, who was behind her. He pointed to her right. She saw that they were actually on top of the waterfall.

"It's amazing!" she exclaimed. She saw Rin, the castle, and everything for miles on below her. The forest extended far beyond what she imagined, although she could see specks that she suspected must be human villages. Also, the noon sun gave everything a surreal look.

"I'm glad you like it," Sesshomaru whispered in her year as his arms wrapped around her waist.

There was a mysterious glint in his eyes that she didn't like very much. Before she could ask, he held her and jumped down. She screamed, fearing for her life, until with a splash they landed in cold water. She chocked on the mouthful of water that got in when her mouth was still open for a scream.

Several seconds later, she surfaced angrily and blew a strand of hair away from her face, surprised that she was still alive. Sesshomaru was not far in front of her with a smug look on his handsome face.

"What were you thinking? You could've killed both of us!!" she screamed, though her voice was rather weak, due to the mouthful of water she swallowed, and the fact that she was rather weak in the knees. He looked absolutely gorgeous standing there in the water. His hair was wet and clung to his chiseled features. The sunlight literally made him glow. _Must not be distracted. Must not be distracted._ she repeated the mantra in her mind.

Sesshomaru didn't answer but just went underwater. He was up to something, but she was soaking wet so she just decided to ignore him and swam toward shore. However, just before she got out, Sesshomaru pulled her back down. She opened her mouth to scream in frustration, but his mouth closed over hers before she could make a sound. The planned scream turned into a moan as his hard, wet body wrapped around hers. Minutes later, they resurfaced, both gasping for air and breathing heavily.

"Don't…do…that…ever…again…" Ayame gasped out before she started kissing him madly again. Sesshomaru gladly returned her advances. His hands worked swiftly on her yukata and soon had her half out of her clothes.

"No… not here…" she mumbled, her sanity returning a little when she heard Rin's voice not far away from them. The little girl didn't really have to witness this at her young age.

Sesshomaru growled in frustration. "Tonight," he said commandingly and jumped out of the water. He started heading away from her, as if they weren't about to make love right there in the open.

"Where are you going?" Ayame shouted after him. She hated how needy she sounded, but she couldn't deny the loss she felt at his departure.

"The dungeons."

"Why?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer and was soon out of her sight. Ayame didn't know if she should despair or be angry. She picked the latter. Why the hell should she despair? It wasn't like he was leaving the castle. He was just going to the dungeons, wherever that was. And what on Earth was he doing at the dungeons? Why couldn't he just tell her? Damn it!

Muttering all sorts of curses against egotistical males, Ayame stomped out of the water. _Tonight my ass._ _He's not getting anywhere near me unless I find out what he's been doing these last few days._

Having made up her mind, Ayame returned to the castle just in time for lunch. When Rin asked her to go out and play, she almost agreed before remembering the library she had discovered yesterday. _Maybe I could find something about myself there._ Thus, she declined Rin's offer and wandered for a while before she found the library once again.

For some reason, this time, Ayame didn't have to search through the shelves, because a book caught her attention immediately. It was positively glowing by the time she reached it. Curious, and drawn toward the book for unknown reasons, she pulled it out and almost dropped it because it was so heavy. She took it and sat down on the chair across from the hearth.

The book had leather cover and looked very much like those tomes that she'd seen in ancient libraries across the world. It was very old and dusty, as if nobody had touched it in centuries. However, when she wiped away the dust, she found that it was in an amazingly good condition.

Curious, she read the title of the book out loud, "The Mysteries of the Shikon no Tama."

_Interesting._

Ayame flipped to the table of contents, which listed: Midoriko the Priestess, Before the Shikon no Tama, History of the Shikon no Tama. Under "History of the Shikon no Tama" were sub categories about how the Shikon had been passed through each age and significant events that had happened to it. To her shock, the second to last category was "The Girl From the Future" and the last one was "Midoriko's Split Soul."

Quickly, Ayame flipped to the end of the book. To her amazement, words were appearing by themselves. She read some of it and realized that it was about what is happening to the Shikon as of this moment.

"Wow…" She leaned back against the chair, amazed that the book could actually do this. It must be some strong and ancient spell.

Flipping back, Ayame went to "Midoriko's Split Soul". It had everything about how she came to the past and what had happened to her along the way. Somewhere near the end, she read, "and she has finally found the book that has every answer to her questions."

_Every answer to my questions, but how?_

Ayame flipped back to the first page of that category. Something was written there in small letters. It said, "For answers about how Midoriko split her soul, refer to 'Before the Shikon no Tama'." Swiftly, she flipped to there, but before she could read one word, a strong white light emanated from the book, blinding her…

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think? Good, bad? How was the lemon, for those of you who read it? I've written them before, but it's hard everytime. Maybe they're just not my thing. Lol. So anyway, things are finally getting interesting. The main plot is about to unfold (not that any previous chapters were not important), but the really good parts are coming up. I'll try to keep the updates regular as much as possible.**

**So please REVIEW!!! **

**(I was very sad that nobody reviewed the previous chapter. I don't want to be an author that lives for reviews, but they're important feedback from readers. I think every author wants to hear the readers thoughts on the story, so take a minute or so and review!!! I'll be eternally grateful. Hehehe!)  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The book left Ayame's lap as the light slowly dimmed to the point that it was no longer blinding her. It floated in the air and stopped a few feet away from her. She watched in awe as an image of a female appeared on top of the book.

The image was transparent, much like the holograms one would see in a science fiction movie. The person looked young, maybe in her mid-20s. She had long black hair and wore traditional Japanese armor on top of her cloth with a sword tied hanging by her side. One her forehead was a small purple diamond-shaped symbol. Even though there were some differences, Ayame still thought that the image looked like herself, especially when the image's lips curved into a smile.

Now she was sure of the image's identity.

"You…you're Midoriko-sama?"

The woman nodded, her eyes filled with warmth and humor. "My, it's been so long. I never thought it could happen when I did this spell, but it did. At the most unusual place too, a powerful demon lord's castle." Her laugh was rich and warm. Ayame couldn't believe that someone like her could kill so many demons and give up her life for it.

"So this book…where did it come from?" That was the first question to pop out of Ayame's mouth. In fact, she had so many questions that she didn't know where to start. She was still getting used to the fact that she was talking to a ghost form of Midoriko who appeared out of a book. How strange did that sound?

"I wasn't the one who created this book, but I am pretty sure Shira was the one who created it." Midoriko looked somewhat mystified, as if she didn't have all the answers the book had promised Ayame.

Ayame realized that even though Midoriko was an adult, the miko had a rather childish disposition when she wasn't fighting off demons. Maybe a better description was that she was rather easy-going. She was the kind of person that attracted others toward her because of her openness and light-heartedness about the world.

"The spell, how did you do it, and why? Did you know that you were going to… going to…" Ayame couldn't say the word out loud.

"Die?" Midoriko's playful expression disappeared. She turned serious all of the sudden, but also extremely sad. "Yes, in a way, I did. As a miko, I could sense when bad things will happen. Even before the battle, I had heard about the demons' gatherings to defeat me. I was excited, because I had made my life's goal to destroy demons. Yet, I was scared, because I knew this time it was different from the others. I won't come out of the battle unscathed. As selfish as I was, I didn't want to die, not yet. I wanted to live on, and that was where you came in."

Ayame understood Midoriko's fear and sadness. If she was in the miko's position, she wouldn't want to die either. After all, the miko was in the prime of her life. She had the rest of her life ahead of her. She had been helping others ever since she could. She didn't deserve such an early and terrible death. She should've lived happily after the battle along with the people around her.

"I'm sorry," Ayame muttered. Her mind raced with what would be her fate in the future.

Midoriko shook her head gently. "No, you shouldn't be. I should be the one saying that because I put you in such a tough situation." She paused and judged Ayame's reaction, then continued, "As you know, I didn't want to die. At least, I know that if I died, my death would be for nothing, because I wouldn't have been able to eliminate the demons. So, I thought of a way to keep myself alive, so that the demons wouldn't win."

"Is this where the Shikon comes in?"

"Impatient, are we?" Ayame blushed. "Well, not yet. I had a sister, the only person that I truly protected not out of obligation but love. I protected the people back then because I was a miko. It was my duty, but it was different for my sister. Her name was Shira. She agreed to help me when I told her about my plans.

"You probably don't know, but each person's soul is separated into lifetimes. I technically had different souls within me from the different lifetimes I've lived in this world. These separate lifetimes make up the human being, in this case, me. I extracted two of these souls from me using my powers and planted them in Shira's body. At that time, I only thought of staying alive. If I were to die at the battlefield, Shira will be able to use those two souls to heal me, but things didn't go the way I planned."

Ayame was awestruck by the story and couldn't wait to hear the rest. When Midoriko stopped speaking at the crucial moment, she felt like she was left with a cliffhanger that authors usually used to entice their readers to keep flipping the book. She couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

"Well, the army and I had planned to launch a surprise attack on the demons, but they were one step ahead of us and caught us off guard at our camp at midnight. I fought with all of my power, but there were just too many of them. Strong ones, weak ones, they were everywhere. And everywhere around me my people were falling. When I was fighting off an unusually persistent demon, I caught sight of Shira being caught in the cross fire. She wasn't a fighter like I was. She was supposed to leave before we engaged the demons.

"Anyway, I couldn't let her die, not only because she carried part of my soul within her, but also because she was my precious sister. I had to protect her. I didn't know how I did it, because I never thought about it, but I extracted all of the demon's souls and my own into my heart. That was the beginning of the Shikon no Tama."

Ayame sighed and sank deeper into the chair. All of this information was giving her a gigantic headache. "So you never planned to make the Shikon from the beginning?"

"No."

Ayame tried to sort out the questions in her head and once again asked the first one that stuck out in her mind, "What about this book? You couldn't possibly have made it after you died. So how?"

"At the time, I was quite famous in the area for killing demons, so some people decided to record my life. As for this one, like I said, Shira probably created it after my death. She had strong untapped powers within her, equaling mine. I sealed on her power, because I didn't want her to live the way I did, devoting myself to killing demons and nothing else. Once I was gone, she tapped into her power source and made this book, knowing that whoever inherited the remains of my soul will suffer through confusion and pain, so she sacrificed her life to make this."

"If she made it, then shouldn't she be the one talking to me now?" Ayame asked, feeling sorry for Shira, but admired Midoriko for her devoted protection of her sister.

"She could've done that, but she chose to use me by putting all of her memories of me into this book. If you accomplish your goal, then this book will disappear from this world. However, if you fail and die, it will wait and continue to write about the Shikon no Tama until it is destroyed.

Ayame stared at her in confusion and asked, "My goal?"

"Yes. You're the only person with the ability to destroy the Shikon no Tama."

"How? I thought as long as it is used, then it'll disappear."

"That is not the truth. While the Shikon is pieces now, you must reassemble it."

"Kagome's already doing that," Ayame muttered, not feeling so well that this huge burden had fallen upon her. She wanted nothing to do with the Shikon no Tama.

"Yes. Kagome, the reincarnation of the other priestess who could actually purify the Shikon, but you're the one who can completely destroy it. If the girl Kagome uses the Shikon on the hanyou Inuyasha, the Shikon will simply stay in his body until he dies. Then it will reappear in this world again, not to mention the millions of other demons that will try to kill Inuyasha in order to acquire the Shikon, because the demons in the jewels call out to their brethrens. Yet, if you have it, you must destroy it. In the process, we will be made whole."

"Made whole? What do you mean?"

"Remember, you only have part of my soul in your body. Because your soul is incomplete, you will not live long. However, once you use your power to destroy the Shikon no Tama, the demons will be purified, and our souls will reunite."

"But… but I can't even look at the shards. I mean, whenever I do, I see all those horrible images, hear voices, and feel like someone is killing me with daggers or something," Ayame said defiantly.

"Well, that is because the Shikon is trying to absorb you. It goes back to our connection. Because you're a part of me, my soul inside the Shikon is trying to bring you back to me. However, you could try and touch it to purify it with your power, but it will be hard to do because the sight of the shards renders you powerless. You won't even be able to move.

"However, when you find a new shard within a demon, kill the demon and immediately touch the shard. Your power will become stronger than mine at that moment, so the shard won't be able to harm you."

"Is that all? It sounds rather…easy."

"Well, there is a little problem…" Midoriko said nervously. Oh, Ayame didn't like the sound of that.

"Problem?"

"Because we're linked, there is a way to make you disappear, to force you to come back to me."

Her face turned pale. Oh, this was definitely bad. "How?"

"I'm not completely sure if this is how it will work. From the book, I know that the Shikon is now broken into shards. I'm guessing that by placing eight of these shards around you in a circle, the power of the shards will strip your soul from your body and take it back into the Shikon, reuniting our soul."

Ayame shuddered at the thought. "But you're not sure, right?"

"Uh… Since it's never happened before… But I would not suggest you try it."

"No, I suppose not." Ayame didn't even want to contemplate being "absorbed" back into Midoriko. Did that mean she would lose her own consciousness and become a part of Midoriko? But wasn't this her goal? To reunite the split soul? "Anyway, even if I reassemble the Shikon, how am I supposed to destroy the Shikon and reunite our soul? Is there a big ritual or something?"

Midoriko laughed a little. "No, not at all. That step is easy. All we have to do is…"

A piercing scream cut off the rest of her sentence. Ayame literally jumped out of her seat. _What was that? _

"Well, it looks like our time is up."

"Wait! How can I use my powers? I mean, most of the time they don't work. I can't feel anything either!"

"You can't feel it, but you can will it to come, especially if you need it desperately. It gets better with time and practice."

While Ayame digested this, Midoriko's image became fainter and fainter. "One last warning, Ayame, you cannot love the demon lord."

"What?" Ayame was shocked to hear this, but Midoriko had already disappeared. The book dropped to the ground and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ayame pondered on Midoriko's warning. She supposed it made sense. She was a miko, or at least part of one. She had no business loving a demon, especially one as strong as Sesshomaru. Still, she already loves Sesshomaru. Nothing can change that. Midoriko's warning had come too late.

Her contemplations were cut short when she heard another scream. She bolted for the door and looked out. The sound seemed to have come from the end of the hallway, opposite of the stairs. Quietly, she snuck out of the room and walked toward where the scream came from.

When she made it to the end of the hallway, there were stone stairs leading downward. _Hmm, I've never seen them before. _Well, maybe because she'd never been to this part of the castle before. Both curious and scared, for it was very dark down the stairs, she walked downward slowly with her hand along the wall, feeling her way through the darkness. Her heart thudded loudly against her chest as she heard the echoes of her footsteps.

After walking for what seemed like forever, though it was probably just a few minutes, she saw a little light in front of her and sighed with relief. She fastened her pace and ended up in another hallway lit dimly with torches along the walls. There were wooden doors leading to different rooms along each wall. The place was extremely dirty with cobwebs everywhere and rats scurrying on the floor, as if nobody had visited the place for decades. Ayame held back a scream when she felt something on her hand. It was a spider. She threw it off instantly. Her breathing was starting to get heavy from her fear. Who knew how many other spiders there were at this place?

Shin was right. She was deathly afraid of spiders and other bugs, but she'd never admit it to another person.

Once she was on even ground, she listened for the screams again and heard it coming from the third room to her right. She ran toward it and tugged on the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. She then pounced on the door until she heard the bolt being lifted on the other side of the room. She jumped back in time when the door swung open.

Behind it, Sesshomaru stood in the doorway looking very much pissed off. His tall frame filled the doorway so that she couldn't see who was inside.

"What are you doing here?" He stood there menacingly and asked.

_Danger! Danger!_ A voice warned her, but she refused to back down, though her voice came out a lot weaker than she had hoped. "I heard screams in the library…so I just…" She gulped. Did she say that Sesshomaru looked scary? This was the Lord of the Western Lands standing in front of her, not the Sesshomaru who had made love to her last night and took her for a ride down the waterfall.

"Go back, and don't come down again," he ordered and turned around.

"Wait! What are you doing in here?" She ran in after him and stopped when she saw Kahu crying in one corner of the room while Shin was chained against the wall. His clothes were ripped. There were whip marks all over his body. Yet, he glared at Sesshomaru with fury and hatred in his eyes. Ayame's eyes met his, and she couldn't help but avert his eyes in guilt.

"What did you do to them?" Suddenly, she felt the strength and courage she needed to challenge Sesshomaru, going so far as to trying to undo the chains locking Shin in place.

Sesshomaru's whip cracked near her feet. "Ayame, go back to your room."

"Not until you let them go!"

In a second Sesshomaru was beside her. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward the door.

"Let me go!" She fought against him, but he was thousands of times stronger than she was.

He pinned her against the wall right across the hall from the door and hissed dangerously, "I do not want to hurt you, but if you keep testing my patience, I will break my promise."

He was trying to fight his own anger and violent instincts. As much as she hated leaving Shin and Kahu alone, she felt worse about putting Sesshomaru in such a hard place.

"But please, don't hurt them anymore…" she pleaded.

The anger on Sesshomaru's face abated a little. "I'll be back before dinner. Wait for me in your room." His voice was deadly calm again. Ayame actually found that she liked it better when he was calm than when he was extremely angry.

She nodded and headed back upstairs while trying to figure out a way to help Shin and Kahu without getting herself killed in the process.

An idea hit her as she was getting back to her room. She turned straight back down and went outside in the forest to search for some herbs. She found some pretty far way into the forest and sniffed it. Stifling back a yawn, she smiled. _Perfect._

She quickly returned to the castle. The sun was close to setting. Dinner was about thirty minutes after sunset. She snuck into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl and stick and went back to her room. She lost the track of time as she crushed the herbs. After that, she carefully returned to the kitchen. This time, it was harder, as there were servants in there preparing dinner.

When there was nobody inside for a brief moment, she snuck in and found Sesshomaru's food already prepared on his plate, ready to serve. Carefully, she poured the potion in his food and mixed it up evenly. Then she used some spices to cover up whatever scent Sesshomaru might detect. The process took longer than she expected, so that when she was about to leave she heard footsteps outside the door. Hastily, she looked for a place to hide. She climbed under the table with its back against the wall just as the door opened.

Two servants came in. One carried out Sesshomaru's food while the other one took hers. As soon as she was sure no one was near, she threw away the bowl and stick and then went back upstairs. Sesshomaru was already in her room with the food on the table.

"Where did you go?" He eyed her with suspicion as she came in.

"I just went outside to watch the sunset." She tried not to let her nervousness show.

"Come and sit down." Sesshomaru gestured to the chair across from him.

She sat down and asked uncomfortably, "What did you do with Shin and Kahu?"

"Let's not talk about it," he said easily, dismissing her discomfort.

"You didn't kill them, did you?"

"One more word about them and I'll throw you in the dungeon with them!" Sesshomaru slammed his fist on the table and glared at her murderously.

Ayame finally shut up. She stared at her food without any appetite, but she ate anyway, swallowing each bite because she couldn't seem to chew the food.

Dinner passed in a tensed silence. All the time Ayame was worried that Sesshomaru would find out that she had tampered with his food and stop eating. Thus, she sighed inwardly with relief when she realized that he didn't find out about the sleeping potion she had put in his food. Now all she had to do was to wait for the potion to work.

"I'm going back to my room," Sesshomaru suddenly stood up with a frown on his face and then left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Ayame waited for the servants to take away the plates. Then she waited another few minutes before going up to Sesshomaru's room. As she expected, he was in his bed, fast asleep. The potion worked beautifully. Happily, almost whistling to herself, she returned to the dungeon and grabbed the keys hanging from the wall at the entrance. She thought that it was weird there were no guards. Then again, Sesshomaru's prisoners probably never escaped by themselves anyway.

She opened the door to the room Kahu and Shin were in and tiptoed inside. The room was swallowed in darkness with only a bit of light coming from the door. Going back outside, she grabbed a torch and lit all the other torches in the room.

Looking around, her heart sunk. Kahu was lying in a corner near Shin, fast asleep. The top of his yukata was a little bit wet. He must've cried to sleep. Shin was still chained against the wall. On his body were thousands of slashes. It was worse than when Sesshomaru had hit her.

Quickly, she unchained Shin and caught him as his body fell down. Gently, she laid him on the ground while blaming herself for not bringing anything to treat his wounds. He groaned when he was finally flat on the ground. His eyes fluttered open. At first, his gaze was unfocused, but as he saw her, the anger and hatred returned. He pushed her away.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted and then coughed up blood. Kahu woke up. He ran to Shin and blocked him from Ayame.

"Leave him alone, you witch!"

"Please, I'm here to help you!" Ayame begged them.

Shin laughed with sarcasm. "Help us? Haven't you helped us enough? Why don't you go help that demon like you've always done?"

"I wasn't helping him!"

"Oh sure you weren't. Then why aren't you locked up like the rest of us? Why did he say that we mistreated you?" Shin's eyes locked with hers, making her feel more miserable and guiltier by the second.

"I didn't say you guys mistreated me. I just wanted to find out more about myself, but Master Yasun didn't tell me anything," she mumbled.

Shin snorted with derision.

"But I can get both of you out of here. Please trust me."

"It's because we trusted you that we're in here." Kahu pointed out.

"I swear I'm not deceiving you this time!"

"No…" Kahu was about to argue again when Shin interrupted, "Why are you with that demon?" His expression was a little bit softer this time.

"I don't have time to explain now. We have to get out of here."

She bent down beside Shin and examined his wounds. Most of them had stopped bleeding. For the ones that didn't, she tore off part of her yukata from the bottom and bandaged it as best as she could. Then she helped him to his feet. They headed outside with Kahu behind.

"Where is Master Yasun?" she asked as they headed toward the back door leading toward the waterfall. She planned on taking them to the forest behind the castle. There were few youkais around since they were afraid of Sesshomaru. Not to mention, there was also the river so that they could lose Sesshomaru.

Shin looked back at Kahu. There were tears at the corner of his eyes. "The demon killed him."

Ayame gasped. Sesshomaru never said anything about it. Then again, he never told her anything.

"What did he want?" she asked quietly.

"He wants this book we have in the temple. Master Yasun and I are the only ones who know where it is. I wouldn't tell him where it is."

"What book is it?" _Why would Sesshomaru need a book?_ He had plenty in his library.

"It's a book about the Shikon no Tama. I'm not really sure, but something about the priestess that created the Shikon no Tama."

_The priestess? Could it be that book?_

Once they were out of the dungeons, Ayame left them in the library to grab some clothes. She moved as quickly and quietly as possible. Not only did she get clothes, but she also got some ointment for Shin's wounds.

Once they were at the back of the palace, the sound of the waterfall drowned out all others. Ayame continued to support Shin as they headed into the forest. She was worried. She couldn't stay with them, but she couldn't leave them by themselves with the condition that Shin was in, but she could at least take them to the river.

"Are you coming with us?" Shin asked. She could tell that he was getting weaker and weaker. It was already amazing that he could walk with his body in such a condition.

"For now."

They walked on for however long in the quietness until they finally reached the river that eventually fed into the waterfall. As soon as Ayame decided that they should stop, Shin collapsed. While Kahu fretted over Shin, she went to the river to wet some linen she had taken from the castle. Then, she carefully stripped Shin of what little clothes he had left, feeling worse and worse as she discovered the extent of his injuries. Then she started to clean his wounds meticulously and apply the ointments.

"Why are you doing this?" Kahu asked. He still mistrusted her. She guessed that she deserved it after what she had done.

"I didn't mean any harm by going to your temple. I really wanted to understand my powers, but I didn't think that Sesshomaru would do this. Sometimes, I'm as much a prisoner as you are."

"Right." Kahu clearly had second thoughts.

Ayame didn't mind him. He was young. He didn't quite understand the complexities of the world yet. All she said was, "Prisons take on many different shapes."

While Shin slept on and Kahu dozed off, Ayame sat there, worrying incessantly about when Sesshomaru would wake up. When he finds them gone, he'd no doubt begin the research immediately. Hopefully, by then, Shin and Kahu would have gotten far enough that he wouldn't be able to capture them anymore. As for her, Midoriko's warning returned. However, she couldn't stay with Shin and Kahu. Staying with them would mean that Sesshomaru would search for them endlessly. No, she'd have to go back and distract him in order to give Shin and Kahu time to get away from this place.

Shin woke up sometimes later, a little bit before sunrise. "Do you feel better?" She asked.

"I can't really tell the difference."

"Oh." Her face fell.

Shin gave her the familiar smile. "I'm sure my body's healing after that ointment even if I do not feel it. Yet I feel strong enough so that we can move on."

She doubted it. He was in no condition to move. Yet they had to go. Sesshomaru was probably already looking for them, and he moved a lot faster than they did. "All right. Let's go."

She woke up Kahu and said, "You two should walk in the river for a bit, so that he'll lose your scent. Oh yeah, and change into these clothes. Give your old ones to me."

"What about you?"

"I'll take your clothes and go a different direction to throw him off."

"You can't," Shin objected.

"Don't worry. He won't kill me." _At least I don't think so._

"Even if he doesn't kill you, it's still too dangerous for a girl to travel alone. There're all sorts of demons out there, not to mention the humans who are just as bad."

She wanted to scream in frustration. She really didn't need this now. They had to get going. "Shin, I can't go with you two. If I go with you, he'd find us and kill you. Do you want that for Kahu? But if I go off by myself and you two travel in the river for half a mile or so, you'll lose him."

Shin debated within himself, looking at Kahu and her. Finally, he gave in. "Be careful."

"I will. After all, I'm not ready to die yet."

Shin and Kahu changed. Ayame then gathered their old clothes. It was hard for Shin and Kahu to walk in the river. Although the current wasn't bad, it was still cold. With Shin's injuries, she was amazed that he did it. She didn't have half the strength that he did.

After directing them upriver, away from the waterfall, Ayame crossed the river and headed deeper into the forest. Every second she was ready for Sesshomaru to appear, sure that he was not far behind and could only pray for Shin and Kahu to escape.

* * *

When Sesshomaru woke up, it was already early in the morning. The first person he looked for was Ayame, but she was nowhere in sight. He swore he could remember…

He growled. The last thing he remembered was eating dinner. Swiftly afterwards, he had felt tired and decided to return to his room. Then… then nothing…

"Jaken!" He called for his little toad servant.

"Yes, my lord?" The little thing wobbled in with the stick he carried with him everywhere.

"Fetch Ayame."

"Yes, my lord."

Sesshomaru stood up and stretched. His body felt well rested. The usual tension was gone. He hadn't felt this good since his father had died a long time ago.

"My lord?" Jaken returned. Sesshomaru smelt the fear and nervousness in him. The tension returned full force. Something was amiss.

"Where is she?"

"She's no longer anywhere in the castle."

Sesshomaru didn't bother saying anything. He had felt it the moment he'd woken up. He had become used to her presence in his castle that he could tell exactly where she was all the time. Yet now, he couldn't detect her in the castle nor anywhere near. Still, he knew exactly where, or rather, who she'd left with.

He headed down to the dungeon. He had to see the evidence for himself. As he expected, the door to Shin and Kahu's prison was open. There was no one inside. His usual calm left him and he roared with anger. The wench! She dared betray him after all of his warnings. He should've killed her. His step faltered at the thought. _No. Not kill her._ He didn't bother to figure out the complexities of his feelings for her, but when he finds them, he will kill the two humans and lock her up, so that she would never betray him again.

He followed their scent to the back of the palace. There they headed into the forest. It took him a few minutes to find where they'd stopped at the river. He sniffed. There was a weak scent leading upstream, but the stronger scent, the one that had Ayame's mixed in it, was across the river and leading deeper into the forest. Whatever the weak scent was, he didn't bother. Right now he just wanted to find Ayame and punish her. He didn't care about the other two humans, but her betrayal he will not forgive.

* * *

Ayame stumbled again and fell down. _Ouch. _She wanted to cry. She didn't have the strength to get up anymore. She'd been wandering for what? Four, five days? She was hungry and tired. She'd passed villages along the way, but she didn't dare approach them because she was afraid Sesshomaru would find her and consequently destroy whatever village she was in, so she'd spent the last few days wandering around the forest alone.

She was just so tired and hungry. Where was Sesshomaru? She wouldn't mind facing his anger than this misery. However, even if she wanted to go back, she couldn't, because she was hopelessly lost. Did her plan not work? Did he go after Shin and Kahu after all and just decided to let her go after she betrayed him? No, he wouldn't do that, would he? After all, he must be thinking that he would punish her because she'd betrayed his trust.

Something roared in the forest behind her. Oh no, she didn't need that. She'd come across a youkai or two these last few days and had used the last of her strength fighting them off. However, whatever had roared didn't sound like some youkai that she could purify with her meager strength.

She struggled up and stood up on shaky feet. She had to move on, but where? Where could she go? She didn't know anyone in this world except for Sesshomaru and Kagome. Kagome, she didn't know where the girl was, as for Sesshomaru, she wouldn't fare any better if she meets him. The roar came closer. She could hear the youkai closing in on her.

_I have to go._ All she knew was that she didn't want to die yet.

She half stumbled and half ran forward, running from whatever was behind her. Then, the forest began to thin out until she was finally at a clearing. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was in the clearing.

It was the well. The well that led back to the future.

_No way. Did I come this far? _In fact, she had no idea how far she'd gone. Anyway, she didn't know how far the well was from the castle in the first place. She hurried forward. This was her chance. The well literally shone with the same purple light that it had when she first came through. She could go back!

Yet, at the edge, she hesitated. Did she really want to go back? She had her goal here—to destroy the Shikon. The person she loved, Sesshomaru, was also here. _So what? _She could never be sure of his feelings. One minutes he treasured her like he loved her, but the other times he could just be as cruel to her as he was to any human. Besides, even if he did love her, did she want to spend the rest of her life growing old with a demon that would never change? He would throw her away the moment she gets a wrinkle. Besides, Midoriko had warned her, hadn't she? There was no future between a human and a youkai.

And as for her goal, did she really need to destroy the Shikon? She didn't want to fight. She already saw what Naraku could do. Besides, the Shikon wasn't her problem. Kagome clearly had it under control. If she was really needed here, then Kagome wouldn't be here. After all, wouldn't it be redundant for two priestesses to exist for the sole purpose of purifying the Shikon no Tama? It made little difference that she could destroy it while Kagome couldn't. The bottom line was, she didn't belong to this world. Therefore, if she didn't leave now, she'd never get another chance. After this betrayal, Sesshomaru would not trust her ever again. There was nothing for her here. Back home, she had everything she wanted. _Except love._

And what about love? Did she really want to destroy the rest of her life for a youkai that wouldn't give her a second look once she's old? With someone that allowed her no freedom? No, she didn't want that. Her perfect love was one that would grow old with her and share her life. Sesshomaru couldn't do that, but Rick could.

Ayame's head was starting to win against her heart. She climbed the edge of the well. Yet, her heart throbbed with pain. Tears blinded her sight. Every part of her being fought against her actions. However, whatever had been chasing her appeared out of the forest. It was a lion-shaped youkai. Its red eyes, glinting menacingly, were focused on her, its prey.

While her attention was divided, she slipped. She screamed as she fell down into the well. The purple light wrapped around her. She was going back to her world.

"No!"

Something wrapped around her waist and pulled her up, so that she literally flew out of the well. She found herself against a familiar hard chest with strong arms wrapped around her. "No!"

"Sesshomaru," she whispered, shocked. He was here. His masculine scent enveloped her and wrapped her in a safe cocoon. It was really him. She wasn't dreaming. She could hear his erratic heartbeat, much like her own. Despite his calm exterior, he was rattled to the core.

Happy beyond belief, she started to cry in earnest, burying herself deeper in his arms.

Sesshomaru tightened his hold on her. He had made it on time. When he saw her, about to jump into the well and return to her world, the only thought in his mind was to stop her. Something had warned him that he wouldn't be able to follow her this time back to her world. When she fell, and the purple light flared, he thought he'd lost her, but he had caught her. If he had been a second late, then she would've been gone from him forever.

That was when the truth hit him. He couldn't imagine returning to a life without her. Not now. Not ever.

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, so a lot of explanations in this chapter, but now everyone should know what's going on, right? Oh, and I hope that everyone had a good Valentine's Day.**

**Anyway, guess what? I finally finished reading Inuyasha! All 56 Volumes (actually I started at vol 30 since i watched the anime, but still...) It was great! For those of you who haven't read it, there's a bit of a spoiler coming up: **

**My favorite line is when Naraku finally got the entire shikon and started to transform. Sesshomaru shows up and says, "Hmph… Even transformed, in the end you're still just a spider." I totally cracked up. Oh my, I just love Sesshomaru. I screamed in happiness when he got his own sword and got his left arm back. *sighs dreamily***

**So that's my little rant for the day. As always, please review! ^.^**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Ayame stared out of the window wistfully. Rin was playing hide and seek with Jaken. As always, the girl abused the little demon to no end while Jaken was all bark and no bite. Ayame sighed and slumped back in her chair. She was so bored, so much so that she thought she would die. She was sick of being cooped up in her room all day waiting for Sesshomaru to come get her. Worse, she didn't even want to deal with Sesshomaru and his attitude.

Ever since she'd helped Shin and Kahu escape more than a month ago, Sesshomaru had locked her in her room with a demon guarding the door at all times after they returned to the castle. As expected, he treated her coldly as if she was a bug and didn't deserve any of his time. The momentary weakness she'd detected that time at the well disappeared into thin air. He didn't allow her to go anywhere without either Majeh or him as an escort. She couldn't even talk to Rin without his presence. A lot of times she really wanted to smash in his arrogant face.

While she was getting all warmed up for a good fight again, someone knocked. She hoped it was Sesshomaru, but it wasn't. Sesshomaru didn't knock. He simply intruded. "Come in."

The door opened and a servant walked in. It was the same demon that had interrupted Sesshomaru and her that long-ago morning. Ayame had learned that her name was Pandora. She was the one that brought the meals every day. She was extremely pretty, for a demon. She had wavy brown hair past her shoulders and curves at all the right places. Her face was aristocratic, despite her station in life. The fact that she looked so much like a human told Ayame just how powerful she was. Doubtlessly, she only served Sesshomaru because she hoped someday to become Sesshomaru's mistress and mate.

Pandora placed the food on the table as usual, stood there and waited when Ayame didn't move. Ayame asked her with irritation, "What are you still doing here?"

"Sesshomaru-sama specifically ordered that I should not leave until after you've finished eating," she said with a sneer.

Ayame frowned. She wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat, but she did it anyway, just to get Pandora out of her hair. She swallowed the first bite without tasting anything. "Don't stare at me like that," she snapped when Pandora kept glaring at her.

Again, Pandora smiled same condescending smile. "I am just wandering what Sesshomaru-sama sees in a human like you. All of you are weak and pathetic, not to mention you grow old quickly."

"Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

Suddenly, the food in front of Ayame looked disgusting. She felt like throwing up.

"Of course I will. Yet, Sesshomaru-sama has been awfully busy lately. He is trying to catch those prisoners that you released and also helping Naraku retrieving the Shikon shards."

_Helping Naraku? _Ayame wanted to think clearly, but her stomach felt like it was turning upside down. Her chest tightened, then her throat. Before she could stop it, she threw up all over the floor. Pandora looked absolutely disgusted. Ayame didn't blame her. Even she was grossed out. She couldn't stop as she threw up a second time. When it finally stopped, she cleaned her mouth with water and told Pandora to clean up the mess.

Pandora looked like she was going to kill Ayame. Ayame sometimes wondered why she didn't if the demon hated her so much. It would be easy for her to put some poison in Ayame's food. What would it matter?

Pandora left with the plates. Minutes later, some other servant came up and cleaned the mess. When she was finally alone again, Ayame went back to bed and decided to sleep even though it was the middle of the day. She was just so tired.

She woke up with the last rays of the sun disappearing in the horizon. Something smelled nice in the room. There was food laid out on the table. Nonetheless, even though the food smelled good and looked delicious, her stomach felt queasy again. _Oh no, not again._ Luckily, she didn't throw up this time.

She got out of bed carefully, not wanting to upset her stomach. She went to the bathroom and washed her face. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she was shocked at how pale she was. All the color had gone out of her face. She was ghostly white. She'd never looked so ill before. She had always prided herself on her strong immune system and healthy body back in her world. Maybe the malnutrition of the past was finally getting to her.

Once she was back in the room, she went to the door and knocked. Strangely, no one answered. She tried the handle and found that the door wasn't locked. This was the first time this had happened since she came back. She left her room. There was no one guarding her either! Something strange was going on here. It wasn't like the servants to abandon their duty, for they were well aware of the consequences.

Ayame wandered in the hallway for a while, not really knowing where to go. She found herself heading for Sesshomaru's room. To be honest, she wanted to see him. He probably wasn't there. Even if he was, he'd probably throw her back in her room the moment he sees her, but she still went, her emotions overriding her mind.

The door to Sesshomaru's room was a little bit ajar. _This is weird. Sesshomaru never left his door open no matter what._

"Why don't you just let me kill her? She is of no use." Ayame heard Pandora's voice coming from inside the room.

"No, she will destroy the Shikon no Tama and Naraku," Sesshomaru answered in his usual deep and calm voice.

Ayame's heart stopped. So that was what he wanted.

"She can't destroy them if you lock her up in that room forever. It is time you let her go, Sesshomaru-sama," Pandora argued.

"You dare to command me?"

"I…" Pandora's voice quivered. "Forgive me, my lord. I am just afraid…"

"Afraid?"

"Afraid that she will become your mistress." Pandora's voice was so soft now that Ayame barely heard her.

"I will not take her to be my mate. She is no different than any other humans if not for her powers. The only use I have for her is to destroy the Shikon and Naraku, then take Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha."

Ayame stumbled back against the wall to steady herself. It hurt. Each of those words had been like a dagger piercing her heart until she couldn't feel anything but pain. Although she'd thought that this moment would happen eventually, she still wasn't prepared for the pain. And Sesshomaru thought she betrayed him? This was a bigger betrayal than anything she could have ever done.

"What are you doing here?" Someone growled to her right. Majeh was standing there with his sword drawn.

Instantly, the door in front of her swung open. Sesshomaru stood there majestically, his body filling up the doorframe, while she cowered against the wall so she wouldn't collapse. Tears threatened to come out, but she held them back. There was no doubt that Sesshomaru knew that she had heard what he said from the surprise in his eyes. No one said anything for a minute before she ran. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Majeh grabbed for her as she ran past him, but she pushed him out of the way with the help of her powers. When she almost made it to the stairs, Sesshomaru got over his shock. He caught her and lifted her up from the ground. She didn't hesitate to call her powers. She didn't care if she hurt him, because he didn't care if he hurt her.

"Let me go, you bastard!"

She pushed as hard as she could. A flash of bright purple blinded her as she sent Sesshomaru to the other side of the hall. Nevertheless, he was already getting up since he wasn't seriously hurt. Only a small part of his armor was singed, but now he looked more pissed off than surprised.

She didn't wait before running down the stairs. Once she was on the first floor, she ran as fast as she could until she was outside. Before she was anywhere close near the forest, Sesshomaru caught her again. She pounced on him crazily with all the strength she had left while wishing for her powers to help her like earlier. He finally loosened his grip on her. She fell back, only to fall right into someone else's arms.

At first, Ayame didn't care and only wanted to get out, thinking that it must be Majeh or some other of Sesshomaru's servants. However, something purplish flashed before her. All of her strength was drained instantly as her body convulsed in pain. It was a Shikon shard. She fell limply into the person's arms. Whoever held her kept the shard in front of her eyes, obviously knowing that it will render her powerless. She fought against the scream that built up in her throat because of the pain.

"I never thought I could get her from you this easily, Sesshomaru-sama." Ayame recognized the voice. It was Naraku.

She couldn't see Sesshomaru because her back faced him, but he demanded, "Give her back, Naraku."

"Why? She's clearly not enjoying your company. Maybe she'll enjoy mine."

A low growl rumbled deep from Sesshomaru's throat. "Don't you dare touch her."

"That'll depend on her, wouldn't it?"

Her feet left the ground as Naraku leaped away from Sesshomaru's attack and into the forest.

At first, Ayame could hear Sesshomaru chasing behind them. Then, that sound disappeared and silence settled around her.

She must have dozed off because when she opened her eyes again, she was lying in bed. She tried to sit up, but found that her hands and legs were tied up, not to mention she was still drained of her strength.

"Ah, you're awake." Naraku walked in the room.

Ayame turned her head to face him and hissed, "Let me go."

He chuckled. "You are in no condition to demand anything." One of his hands went under her yukata and slid up her leg slowly.

"Don't touch me," she hissed and struggled against her bonds. He smirked and cut open the ropes easily. She raised her hand to slap him, but he caught her hand easily and pinned her back on the bed in a flash, holding both of her wrists above her head with one hand.

Naraku bent over her and trailed kisses along her neck. She shivered in disgust and fear. She squirmed under him with all of her strength, which wasn't much. She sensed the jewel shards he carried even though she couldn't see them. They were sapping whatever strength she had left.

When he started undressing her, she gasped, "Stop…" That was the only word she could say before his lips crashed down on hers. His hard body pressed against hers as he kissed her roughly, forcing his tongue in her mouth. Tears blinded her vision as she fought against him. Yet, her struggles meant nothing to him, only arousing him even more.

_Sesshomaru!_ She screamed in her mind, wishing that she'd never run away from him.

She sobbed when Naraku completely ripped open her yukata. "No… Stop it…" she cried as his hand circled her exposed breast. _Sesshomaru, where are you? _

Then, all of a sudden, Naraku stopped. He glanced at the door to her right and smirked without releasing her. "He's here," he said expectantly. He released her as he got up. She sat up and tried to salvage whatever was left of her clothing to cover herself. "He will not save you, priestess. These shards will make sure of that."

Naraku held up eight shards before her eyes. Her strength drained out of her again. This time, she felt an irresistible tug on her consciousness. _Oh God, Midoriko was right._ She looked on, horrified, as Naraku laid them out in a circle around her. _One more…and then…_

Surprisingly, Naraku stopped. However, the feeling of something tugging at her only increased. Now, instead of just pulling at her consciousness, her body felt as if it was being physically pulled apart. She screamed but no sound came out. A white light appeared in front of her as the image of Naraku blurred. She realized with horror that the white light was her soul half pulled out of her body. As soon as Naraku lay down the last shard, she would be gone.

* * *

Sesshomaru stood in front of Naraku's castle. It had taken him two days to find this place, covered in miasma. At first, he wasn't sure if he had found the right place, for Naraku had placed a barrier around the castle. Nonetheless, the closer he was, the stronger Ayame's scent became, as if Naraku was luring him here.

As usual, no one protected the castle. He entered easily, following Ayame's scent and heading upward. Finally, he stood outside the room in which he was certain Naraku kept Ayame. _He'd better not touched her. _He kicked opened the door. Naraku stood beside Ayame, who was lying in bed half-naked, her clothes torn apart. There were Shikon shards placed around her and her body glowed with an eerie white light, sometimes strong and sometimes soft. Her eyes were unfocused. He knew that she couldn't do anything if she saw one of those shards, but this was more than that.

"What did you do to her?" he asked, holding back his anger.

Naraku smirked and held out another shard in his hand as he replied, "I guess she didn't tell you. She had already met Midoriko. That book you tried so hard to find from the boy Shin was in your castle all along. She had read it. She knows that her destiny is in this world. Also, if eight shards are placed around her in a circle, her soul will be extracted and absorbed into the Shikon, rejoining Midoriko's. She will be nothing but an empty shell afterward."

Sesshomaru didn't want to think about that. He couldn't imagine Ayame being an empty shell with nothing inside. For the first time, he felt fear, not for himself, but for the human women lying a few feet away from him. If only he could just snatch her away from Naraku. If only it were that easy…

"How does that concern me?" he asked in as smooth a voice as possible. He couldn't let Naraku see how the news rattled him, or he'd never win against the bastard.

"Of course nothing, but it is amazing that you have come all the way here because I kidnapped a human woman of yours. Yet, if it doesn't concern you, then you wouldn't mind if I complete the circle?" Naraku said and lowered the shard toward Ayame's head, where an empty space was left for the eighth shard. As the shard got closer and closer, the glow around Ayame became stronger. The white light formed a small circle and started hovering above her body as if not sure where to go.

"That is enough. What do you want?"

Naraku stopped and took away the eighth shard. "So you do care about this human. Interesting."

Sesshomaru didn't deny it; he couldn't, for Naraku would surely take away Ayame's soul, but there was no way he would say those words out loud, even if his actions spoke louder than words.

When he didn't speak, Naraku continued, "What you have to do is easy and the same as before. Get me the Shikon shards that Inuyasha and his human have and also the shards belonging to the wolf demon Kouga. As soon as you bring me these, I will let her go, Sesshomaru-sama." Then Naraku tossed Sesshomaru a beehive containing the poison bees to fight against Miroku's air void.

How dare Naraku order him around? Sesshomaru could have killed him right there, if not for Ayame. That was another reason he did not want to get involved with a human. They were weak. They became your weakness. He, a TaiYoukai, was now doing the bidding of a hanyou because of a mere human. It took every ounce of control for him not to kill Naraku right there.

"If you hurt her further, I will kill you." Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red, making sure that his message got through clearly.

"It is a deal."

Then, Sesshomaru left to search that incompetent brother of his.

* * *

Although Ayame couldn't move, she still heard Naraku and Sesshomaru's conversation. She couldn't make up her mind, whether she should be happy or heartbroken. On the one hand, Sesshomaru didn't let Naraku kill her, meaning that he cared about her on some level. On the other hand, there was a chance that she would never talk to Sesshomaru again. After this fiasco, he would never even look at her again.

"Looks like I won't get to kill you after all," Naraku said, bending over her.

She didn't bother reply. Honestly, she didn't have any strength left. Naraku simply glanced at her one more time, certain that she couldn't do anything with the seven shards surrounding her. Then he left to doubtlessly plot further harm upon the world.

Ayame drifted in and out of consciousness. Every time she fell asleep, she was inside of the Shikon, where Midoriko still fought the demons. The miko will never allow herself to lose, but neither did the demons back down. Ayame tried to get close to her, but whenever she tried, she was pushed back, as if a barrier separated her from the miko.

She didn't know how much time had pass until finally a violent force pulled her out of the world of the Shikon no Tama. The ground shook beneath her. Something screamed, but those screams didn't belong to the demons inside the Shikon. She tried to look around frantically, but she couldn't move. She was back to her body in the real world. She strained to see through the white light that blurred her vision and caught something red moving around.

"…I will kill her!" She heard Naraku's words right before immense pain wracked her body. This one was much stronger than the ones before, coming from everywhere but mostly from her heart. She tried to scream, but like before, nothing came out. Naraku must have dropped the last shard. She was losing consciousness.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's voice penetrated the veil over Ayame's mind. This time, another pain, one that was much more physical and real, hit her. It hurt, but at the same time it lessened the pain caused by the shards. Someone had cut her, Ayame realized as she vaguely saw the blood spilling on the floor. She had a moment to feel like she was floating. She looked down and saw her body covered in blood with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome kneeling over her before she was covered in darkness once more.

* * *

Ayame was once again back on the battlefield with Midoriko and the rest of the youkai. Some still haven't noticed her while others growled menacingly at her. Midoriko, who was struggling against a centipede demon, hadn't noticed her either. Ayame turned sharply when she heard a rustle behind her, just in time to see a giant frog demon leaping on top of her. She had no time to dodge.

"No!" she shouted and closed her eyes, waiting for the demon to hit her, but the collision never came. Instead, the frog demon screamed. When she opened her eyes, the frog demon had disappeared. The only thing left of it was purple glitters in the sky that was disappearing little by little. Since Midoriko was still engaged with the centipede, Ayame must have somehow killed the demon, probably by purifying its spirit.

When Midoriko finally noticed her, the centipede took advantage of the miko's distraction and struck her down. Ayame ran toward her with worry. A strong barrier that destroyed all the demons that managed to get close to her had somehow appeared around her. She didn't realize that she was so powerful, but it must be because she was near Midoriko and their power was becoming one.

_No! Don't come near me! _Midoriko's voice rang in her mind.

_What? How can I hear you in my head? _

Midoriko now had a barrier around her as well, so the centipede was destroyed. _Yes. We are one person in this world, so we can hear each other's thoughts and speak mind to mind. But do not come near me, unless you are ready to return to me._

Ayame stopped moving immediately. She was here because the Shikon had absorbed her soul, but she thought that since she was here, she had to return to Midoriko. She couldn't go back anymore. As much as she hated the thought, she couldn't deny the truth. However, she wanted to cry. She wanted to see Sesshomaru one last time and tell him how much she loved him, even if he didn't return her feelings.

However, Midoriko smiled. _No. You can still go back. The Shikon wasn't able to absorb you completely before you died, so only part of you are here while the other part stayed in your body._

Ayame's mouth dropped. _I died? But… but… if I am dead, shouldn't my soul go to heaven or hell or something? _Her thoughts stumbled over one another. She was shocked to her core. She was dead? What? How? When?

_No. Fortunately for you, the demon lord, his sword, Tenseiga, can bring back the dead. His brother killed you before you could be absorbed, then he brought you back using the sword. You are only here because part of you is absorbed, like how you wandered in and out of the Shikon while you were trapped. Soon you will be able to go back. Now do you understand?_

_Yes, I think I do, but when will I go back? I can't wait here, can I?_

However, as soon as she asked the question, she started losing sense of her lower body. She looked down and saw that her body was starting to disappear.

_Ayame, please be careful in the future… You must destroy the Shikon. Do not let anything come between you and your destiny…_

Those were the last words Ayame heard before she completely disappeared.

Everything around her was white at first. After a while, things began to take shape. She saw something golden…her face lay against something soft…someone held her close…the smell was familiar but strange at the same time. She heard voices, at first muffled but becoming clearer and clearer by the second. Someone called her name…a girl's voice.

"…Look, she's waking up…"

"Good! I'm not carrying her any further!"

The fogginess finally cleared as Ayame woke up completely. She was actually on Inuyasha's back as they traveled through the forest.

"Let…go…of…me…" she said weakly and tried to make him stop.

Inuyasha made no attempt to stop her and dropped her on the ground unceremoniously.

"Ayame, are you OK?" Kagome was instantly by her side. She glared at Inuyasha, who stomped off by himself. "You can't believe how worried we were! We didn't think you'd make it!"

Ayame looked around and saw Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha. The one person, well, youkai, she wanted to see the most was not here. "Sesshomaru, where is he?"

Kagome let go of her and said sadly, "He left."

Inuyasha snorted. Ayame's attention was instantly focused on him. "He left? Did he say anything?"

"Yes. He told us to take you back to our world," Kagome replied.

"He what?" Ayame looked at the other girl as if she was insane. "No! I have to go find him!" She stood up and started to walk only to fall down. Tears blurred her vision as someone picked her up again, probably Inuyasha.

"Geez, you women are nothing but trouble."

Ayame swore that Kagome would've ordered him to sit if he wasn't carrying her, but she didn't care anymore. How could Sesshomaru do this to her, again? How could he just save her and leave? What was the point of saving her then?

After sulking for some time, she finally decided to let it go. After all, she had wanted to go back to her world. She had never wanted to be here in the first place. She refused to allow a heartless demon like Sesshomaru play with her emotions. She will forget him in the future. She must. But…

While Ayame was forming her resolution, Kagome explained what had happened. Sesshomaru had found Inuyasha and company not far away from Naraku's castle. They fought, but then found out why Sesshomaru wanted the Shikon shards, so they decided to work together and trick Naraku. Nonetheless, Naraku figured out their plan and almost killed her.

_So that's why I saw them beside me._

Soon, they were outside of Kaede's hut in the village.

"We're going to rest here tonight. You can go back tomorrow," Kagome said quietly as Inuyasha laid her down on a mat.

Ayame nodded. However, she wasn't going anywhere. She will stay here, not for Sesshomaru, for she will forget him and treat him with the same coldness that he treated her. She will stay here and accomplish her goal of reassembling the Shikon and destroying it once and for all.

She fell asleep almost instantly. The sleep was peaceful, but short. She woke up early, before dawn arrived. Everyone else around her was still fast asleep. She sat up, surprised that her strength had returned in such a short amount of time. Having formed her resolve last night, she headed over to where Kagome was sleeping. She could feel the necklace Kagome wore under her shirt. From the feel of it, she knew the piece Kagome had was bigger than last time. _They must have found more pieces and retrieved them._

The closer Ayame moved toward Kagome, the more light-headed and dizzy she felt, not to mention the familiar pain returned, but she refused to give up. Midoriko had said that she had a chance of purifying the Shikon if she didn't let the pain overwhelm her, which was hard to do. However, she had almost developed a tolerance for the pain now after that incident with Naraku. Under any other circumstances, she would be horrified, but now she was almost grateful to Naraku and his evil schemes. In addition, lucky for her, the shard was under Kagome's shirt, so she couldn't actually "see" it.

Ayame bent over Kagome and reached toward the jewel shard. Her hand stopped a few inches away from Kagome. She focused her powers. This time she could actually feel the power coming from the center of her body and toward her hand. It seemed that after spending some time near Midoriko within the Shikon, her power was becoming more responsive to her summons.

_All I have to do is purify it._ She kept the thought in mind, but in reality had no idea how to do it. She watched as her hand glowed purple and the Shikon responded by glowing the same purple. After a few seconds, the light disappeared while the shard appeared in her hand. She thought her strength would leave her, but it didn't. She looked at the shard in wonder as she realized that since she had purified the shard with her power, she didn't have to worry about it trying to take away her soul anymore.

"What are you doing with the Shikon?" A sharp voice brought her back to reality. Inuyasha stood over her with his sword drawn.

Ayame slipped the shard in her pocket and grabbed the bow and arrows beside Kagome. "I'm taking it. What else?" she said as she quickly strung an arrow to the bow.

Inuyasha growled angrily. It was funny how much he resembled his older brother in this one act. "You're not taking it anywhere!" he shouted and attacked.

Ayame let go of the arrow in full force. It met Tetsusaiga head on. Because of her miko power, the Tetsusaiga returned to its normal size. At the same time, it threw back Inuyasha.

The noise woke up the others in the room. When they realized what was happening, Miroku and Sango immediately blocked the door to the building as Kagome bent down beside Inuyasha. "Why did you attack him?"

"He tried to stop me."

"Stop you?"

Ayame showed Kagome the shard she took. Kagome gasped. "Give that back!"

Ayame shook her head. "Just get out of my way. This is my job and not yours!" she said and tried to force her way through, but Miroku and Sango refused to move.

Ayame hissed angrily as she dodged Sango's boomerang, which cut a hole through the room. She then kicked Miroku in the stomach. As soon as he was down, she jumped over him and got behind Sango. She didn't want to hurt the youkai exterminator, so she simply ran outside.

"Get back here!" Inuyasha had woken up and was hot on her heels. "Kaze no Kizu!"

She turned and saw the strong sharp wind heading toward her. She didn't have time to shoot an arrow back. It was getting closer and closer. She was so dead.

Or not.

Someone suddenly appeared in front of her. It took her a few seconds to recognized Sesshomaru. "No!" The scream came out before she could stop it. No matter how strong Sesshomaru was, he couldn't stand this sort of attack without getting hurt, but she did notice that Tenseiga was glowing.

The attack broke most of Sesshomaru's armor. Ayame couldn't see his face, but knew that he must be in pain. However, once the attack was over, he spun around immediately and lifted her from the ground. Then they were zipping through the forest. She wasn't sure how far they had traveled until Sesshomaru finally stopped and dropped her. Before she could say a word, he collapsed beside her. Soon, the ground was covered in his blood.

* * *

**A/N: Please REVIEW!!! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten **

"Oh God, Sesshomaru!" Ayame gasped. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them back despite how horrified she was. Crying wouldn't help him any.

Sesshomaru had stopped not far away from a river, as if knowing what she would need. Carefully, she made sure his was comfortable and took off the clothes on his upper body. Most of his wounds were on his front chest. Working furiously but meticulously, she went to the river and tore off the sleeves of her yukata. She wet them and used them to clean out Sesshomaru's wounds. Then she tore off more of her clothes in order to bandage the worst of the wounds.

She walked around the place looking for some herbs that will help with the healing process. Since she didn't have anything to crush them, she stripped with into small pieces using her hands. Sometimes she even chewed the herbs slightly so the juice will come out and help heal Sesshomaru's wounds. She worked endlessly until night fall, going through his wounds carefully until she was sure he will be fine. By then, a lot of the smaller wounds had already closed because of his body's natural healing power.

However, even when she finished, she didn't dare falling asleep just in case Inuyasha chased them or some other demons showed up. Instead, she sat there trying her best to stay awake and alert. Unknowingly, she stared at Sesshomaru. She loved just looking at him. She had to admit while that he annoyed her most of the time, his stoicism was part of his appeal.

Then, suddenly, it hit her. She was back here, beside Sesshomaru, and letting herself being drawn toward him, even though she'd resolved to keep away from him. She had been so worried about him that she didn't even notice her own actions. Her body and mind had functioned instinctively to help him. She had never thought otherwise.

That was when she realized that she would never be able to follow her resolve. It was humanly impossible for her to leave Sesshomaru. She loved him too much to just let him go. It didn't matter how he felt about her. She just wouldn't let him go. She would be happy just staying beside him for as long as she could. She would not ask for anything more than that.

Having found a new goal, she felt a lot better. She smiled softly as she gazed at Sesshomaru, ignoring the tears that suddenly returned. She wiped them away. She could do it. She wouldn't ask for anything more than just being next to him.

* * *

Sesshomaru groaned as he tried to move. His body didn't listen to him and protested, so he could do nothing but stay still. However, the pain dissipated little by little as time passed at a snail's pace. The scent of his caretaker was familiar. It was definitely Ayame. Only her touch brought him this amount of peace. He wanted to open his eyes and stop her, to tell her to go back to where she belonged, but he had no strength, so he stayed there in a semi-conscious state.

He could still remembered how shocked and desperate he had felt when Naraku almost killed her, or when Inuyasha really killed her. He thought he'd lost her for certain. The thought was more dreadful than he wanted it to be. It was like a part of him died. He still wasn't sure how he found the courage to leave her after knowing that she was alive. Maybe because he thought that she would be happier and safer back in her world. At least, she'd never have to deal with Naraku again. Not to mention, she had always wanted to go back. He was the one that had kept her here, locked to him.

Another reason was, he admitted reluctantly, self-preservation.

He should've just left them then and there, but he couldn't stop himself but look after her while she was still with his incompetent half-brother. He trusted them to take her back to her world safely. As it turned out, they didn't. Rather, that stupid half-brother of his tried to kill her. If he hadn't gotten there in time…

"Just let me stay with you." He heard her say in a soft melodic voice.

_Yes. Stay with me. _He wanted to say, but the words stuck in his throat. He opened his eyes, glad that he finally had the strength to finally do something.

Ayame smiled brightly, but there were remnants of tears on her face. "Don't cry," he said, wishing that he could take away all of her pain, yet knowing that he was the cause of it as well.

"I'm not crying," she smiled even harder. She was genuinely happy that he was awake. To change the topic, she asked, "Why did you leave me?" His heart ached at seeing her heart wrenching expression.

_Because you make me weak. _"It would have been safer, if you had returned to your world."

"Not necessarily." Now there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You don't know the dangers in my world. I could get into a car accident, die in a plane crash, or in an earthquake. There are endless possibilities."

He frowned. She was probably right. He didn't know what car accident or plane crash was, but she knew more about her world than he did. No matter where she went, there were dangers. It would be better if he could be there to protect her. Then he saw the mirth in her eyes. She was teasing him.

His expression darkened. "Ayame…" he warned, but she placed her hand gently over his mouth to stop him.

"I'm serious. Just because Naraku isn't there, my world isn't any safer."

He sighed. He hated the fact that he was losing this argument. The damned woman should just accept his decisions and return to her world. She snuggled down next to him, resting her head against his shoulder tentatively. "I'm staying. You can't stop me," she said stubbornly.

What was the use? He might as well accept his fate.

After a few seconds, she asked lightly, "Sesshomaru, how do I become a demon?"

His entire body stiffened. His eyes narrowed and he asked cautiously, "Why do you ask?"

This time, she looked at him squarely with determination shining in her eyes. "You won't love me because I'm a human. I'm not suitable for you because I'm a human. I can't be with you forever because I'm a human. So if I become a demon, problems solved."

Sesshomaru didn't bother pointing out that she was wrong, at least the part about he won't love her. He already loved her. No matter how hard he had tried to stop his own feelings, she had somehow crawled under his defenses and lodged herself firmly in his heart.

"You don't have to become a demon."

"But I want to stay by you forever. So tell me, how do I become a demon? You know, don't you?"

"Yes, there is a way, but…"

"But?" she prompted.

"You must use the Shikon. Its power can turn you into a demon."

Ayame's jaw dropped. She stared at him while his words lingered in the air. _Use the Shikon, but how? Wasn't I supposed to destroy it?_

"Ayame, it is too dangerous. The Shikon will change you, corrupt you. Few demons can stand against its influence."

"But there is a chance it won't happen with me. After all, I am part of Midoriko. My soul is that of a miko's. So I'll use it." In reality, Ayame didn't know what would happen with her if she really used the Shikon to turn herself into a demon. Besides, was that even possible? She was a full-blooded human, not a hanyou like Inuyasha, so how would that work? But she didn't want to think about that now. Right now she had to focus on convincing Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru struggled with himself. Ayame becoming a demon was the best course of action, but he couldn't deny the dangers such an action posed.

"Sesshomaru, trust me."

He gave in. Recently, he couldn't deny her anything. If this keeps going, he might as well become her slave. He grimaced at the thought. If the other TaiYoukai sees him now—the great Lord of the Western Lands brought to his knees by a mere human, and a priestess at that. He'd never hear the end of it. That brought up another unpleasant thought. There were those that would stop at nothing to eliminate Ayame when they find out about her. After all, many wanted to become his mate. Ayame's proximity with him is dangerous in itself. But if she became a demon, then…

"All right. We will find and collect the Shikon," he agreed reluctantly.

She beamed. "Thank you!"

* * *

The next morning, Sesshomaru was gone when Ayame woke up. She panicked and literally jumped up from her resting place. He couldn't have just left, could he? What about their conversation last night? He had agreed to help her collect the Shikon shards and turn her into a demon. She stood there, shocked. She was about to scream when Sesshomaru stepped out of the bushes with a dead deer on his shoulder.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be up!" She ran to him and examined him closely, but most of his wounds were gone. She had seen his amazing healing power before, but she was still amazed. Then she realized that he was half-naked. He wore no top since most of it had been destroyed anyway from Inuyasha's attack. In order not to be distracted by his Adonis body, she glared at him. "Do you know how worried I was?"

He raised an arrogant eyebrow. "I went to get some breakfast. I did not want to wake you," he explained and threw the deer on the ground.

She stared at the carcass, aghast. "That's barbaric."

Sesshomaru looked amused. "It is food. I will prepare it if you prefer to take a bath."

She was offended by his suggestion. "What? Do I stink to your sensitive dog nose?"

Even if he didn't show it, she knew he was probably exasperated. "All right. I'm gone." Yet she stopped before she'd taken two steps. "Wait? You know how to cook? A great lord like you? Maybe I should do it."

"Ayame, go!" Sesshomaru snapped. What was with this woman? She drove him crazy all the time, in different sense of the world. Last night she came up with that ridiculous notion of becoming a demon. Now she dares to doubt his abilities when he was kind enough to offer to cook for her, a thing he had never done for anyone else in his long life time.

"Fine!" She stomped off. "Let's see what he can come up with," she muttered, unaware that Sesshomaru could actually hear her.

Sesshomaru decided to ignore her. He didn't need to start another fight with her. He's had had enough of that. Knowing him, he would end up hurting her again. She really stretched the limit of his control.

When Ayame finished bathing in the cold river, she followed her nose. Something definitely smelled wonderful. She was hungrier than she had thought. Her stomach was already growling loudly. Not far away from the river, Sesshomaru was exactly where she'd left him. He had set up a fire and was cooking the meat. From the looks of it, he was almost done. The deer carcass was nowhere to be seen. She was glad he had been thoughtful enough to remove that. Otherwise she didn't think she could eat with that thing here.

Watching him cook, she realized like he suddenly looked very normal, well, not physically. But it was just the entire situation. He was almost like a normal boyfriend taking care of his girlfriend, or something like that. She never knew that he had a side like this. It almost felt…nice.

"It still amazes me that you know how to cook," she said as she sat down next to him.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I have always traveled alone."

"Before Jaken and Rin?"

"Yes." He took one of the branches with the meat on it and handed it her. "Here, it is done."

She took the food gratefully. As she slowly ate, she wondered about his condition. He may look fine, but for all she knew he was faking it. After all, he wasn't the sort of person to rest even if he was hurt. "Are you sure you're well enough to be up and about? Inuyasha did a lot of damage…" she trailed off as she sensed his anger starting to go haywire again.

"I am fine. That stupid brother of mine cannot kill me just as I cannot kill him. Both of our swords from our father protect us from the other's assault," he explained.

"Oh." She digested the information. No wonder Inuyasha wasn't dead yet. If it wasn't for that sword, Sesshomaru probably would've killed him already.

After they finished breakfast, they started heading back to Sesshomaru's castle and arrived around sunset. However, Sesshomaru stopped when they were almost to the clearing in front of the castle.

"What's wrong?" Ayame asked.

His answer was a growl to their left.

Seconds later, Inuyasha jumped out of the trees from that direction, Tetsusaiga in hand. She was shocked, but Sesshomaru grabbed her and leapt away just in time. At the same time, he stopped Inuyasha's attack with Tokijin.

"What are you doing here, Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked coldly.

"Give us back our Shikon shard, Ayame!" Kagome shouted behind Inuyasha while stringing an arrow to her bow.

The Shikon? She'd almost forgotten that she had it. Fumbling with her clothes, she found it in one of the pockets. Sesshomaru looked at her, clearly confused. "This is why Inuyasha was trying to kill me," she explained wryly and put the shard back in her pocket. Next she turned to Kagome. "No, Kagome. The shard belongs to me now."

"Why do you need it? You were never interested in the Shikon before."

"That is none of your business. I have found a use for it." She thought it would be best not to tell Kagome what she actually planned to do with it. She wondered what Midoriko would think of her. Would the miko have enough power to stop her? She didn't know.

"Well, well, what an interesting reunion. I didn't think I'd find all of you here."

"Naraku!" Inuyasha growled and jumped at him.

Ayame didn't realize it before, but she felt fear devouring her at the sight of Naraku as she remembered what had happened the last time. Unconsciously, she moved behind Sesshomaru, whom, sensing her fear, wrapped his pelt* around her protectively.

"What do you want, Naraku?" Sesshomaru's voice betrayed none of his inner feelings.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I see you're well. It is such a pity that the human did not die and save you the humiliation of choosing a human as your mate, but that is not my problem. I am simply here to recollect what belonged to me."

"And what is that?" Inuyasha sneered.

Naraku didn't answer, but she felt the evil aura coming from behind her. She spun around and saw Kagura standing right behind her. She had no time to dodge as Kagura waved the fan and the gust of wind hit her. She flew back, but bumped into something warm, no doubt Sesshomaru. He kept her protected while he fought off the wind.

"Ayame, go back inside the castle when you have the chance. You will be safe in there," he whispered to her as the wind died off.

For once, she did as she was told. She did not want to deal with Naraku. Sesshomaru then maneuvered so that he was standing between the castle and Naraku. Inuyasha, now with his long enemy in front of him, had long forgotten Ayame's existence, which she was grateful for.

Instead of waiting pointlessly for the fight to be over, she decided to go get the bow and arrows that she had left in her old room. She had kept those there because she was practicing with them that month when Sesshomaru mostly ignored her. Now, taking them with her, she returned outside near the door

If nothing else, the fight was a free for all. Sesshomaru apparently did not care whether he hurt Inuyasha or not in the process of trying to kill Naraku. Inuyasha, on his apart, did not care either, so they mostly got in each other's way instead of focusing on Naraku and even fought amongst themselves. Naraku, on the other hand, had it easy maneuvering the two brothers against one another, although he did not really get a chance to breach Sesshomaru's block of the castle to get to Ayame.

However, despite how strong Sesshomaru was, Ayame was worried about him. How could she not? Naraku was a strong enemy, so was Inuyasha. Besides, he was hurt badly just yesterday. Surely his wounds weren't all healed. There was also Kagome, who had stayed out of the fight so far, but if Kagome joined, would she try to hurt Sesshomaru with her purifying arrows? She didn't think so.

She still wasn't a hundred percent sure of her powers, but it was probably better to end the fight quickly. She strung an arrow and aimed at Naraku while trying to draw out her spiritual powers. Gradually, she felt it, the core of energy inside of her. She set the arrow loose. To her relief, the purple light surrounded the arrow as it made its way through the poison vapors and toward Naraku's chest.

When Naraku noticed the arrow, it was too late. The arrow had already reached him. She watched with satisfaction as it pierced through him and purifying light devoured him piece by piece. Soon, there was no trace of Naraku left, but she knew he wasn't dead. That was probably just another puppet of his.

As soon as Naraku completely disappeared, Inuyasha tried to get the Shikon shard on the ground, but Sesshomaru stopped him with Tokijin. As Sesshomaru bent down to pick up the shard, Inuyasha attacked using Kaze no Kizu. _This was so not good,_ Ayame thought. He was just hurt yesterday by Kaze no Kizu.

Swiftly, she fired another arrow, sending with it as much power as she could draw out. The arrow met Inuyasha's attack head on and held it back. Everyone was shocked, including her. Nobody moved as they all watched her arrow and Inuyasha's attack negate one another.

"How…how did you…?" Kagome stared at her both in awe and shock.

Ayame guessed from their reactions that no one was ever able to stop Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu attack. She didn't see what the big deal was if one of her arrow could just stop it in its tracks. However, she suddenly felt extremely tired as if all of her energy was drained away. _So that was why._ It took all of her power just to stop one of his attacks. If Inuyasha attacked again, she wouldn't be able to stop him.

"You won't get you shard back," she said. She needed them to leave now, before they figure out just how drained she was. "I don't want us to be enemies, but if you insist, I seriously don't care."

Kagome looked from her to Sesshomaru, then to Inuyasha. She sighed. "Inuyasha, let's go."

"What? I'm not leaving without the Shikon!" Inuyasha bellowed.

"Sit!" Kagome yelled. Ayame couldn't help but smile as she watched Miroku and Sango drag Inuyasha on Kirara. Whenever Inuyasha tried to come back, Kagome would tell him to sit.

She fell back on the ground as she watched them leave. She could barely keep her eyes open. Sesshomaru lifted her as she started drifting in and out of consciousness. She smiled when his familiar scent enveloped her and snuggled closer to the warmth radiating off of his body.

"Sesshomaru…" she whispered and wrapped her arms around him unconsciously.

He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her lightly. "Are you all right?" he whispered gently. His tone was still cool and composed, but it was masked with tenderness. She guessed it was something he couldn't change. However, right now, she was happy that she had seen the side of him that no one else ever had. Besides, if he changed completely, then he wouldn't be Sesshomaru anymore.

"Yeah…just tired," she answered, nodding off against his chest.

They were back in his room sooner than she expected. He laid her on the bed gently. Yet, when he started leaving, her arms around him tightened. "Don't go," she said sleepily.

He looked between her and the door. "Please?"

He sighed and slid into bed beside her. She cuddled against him with a smile. His large hands massaged circles on her back. She slowly lost herself in the comfort and drifted to sleep.

When she woke up again, it was already next morning. Sesshomaru was nowhere to be seen, but his smell lingered in the bed. She snuggled deeper, hoping that he was here. She tried to fall back asleep, but gave up after a few minutes. It was no use. She was wide awake.

She got up and stretched. She found her way to the bathroom, washed up, and dressed in the new yukata that was left on the chair. _Now, what should I do?_ Any other day she would've gone to the library, but the day looked too bright outside for her to resist.

She went outside to the back of the castle where the waterfall was, and not surprisingly, found Rin there. However, Rin wasn't playing like always. Instead, she was holding a bow almost as big as she was and trying to string an arrow to it.

"Rin, what are you doing?" Worried, Ayame asked and took the bow, so that the girl wouldn't hurt herself in the process.

"I'm going to learn to fight so I can help you and Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin answered with determination and tugged on the bow.

Ayame smiled with amusement and checked the weapon. It was the one she had used yesterday. "But why are you using a bow?"

Rin blushed a little and answered, "Because I saw you help Sesshomaru-sama with it. I want to do it too."

"Oh really? Do you want me to teach you?" Rin nodded furiously. "So what's the target?"

The girl pointed to a tree not far away and said, as innocent as ever, "Jaken." Ayame then noticed that Jaken was somehow tied to the tree, looking desperate to get out. She almost laughed, but only held it back because of Rin's presence. The girl didn't need any more encouragements.

"We can't shoot Jaken, Rin. You'll hurt him. Do you want that to happen?"

Rin shook her pretty little head. "No."

"That's a good girl. Now let him go. We'll find some other target."

"OK." Rin rushed to Jaken and untied him. Jaken, looking a little dazed, wobbled back to the castle.

"Now we need to find you a smaller bow. You can't use this," Ayame said to Rin and led the girl back to the castle. She left Rin in the kitchen and went upstairs on her own. On her way to the weapon storage room, she saw Pandora, the witch who had tried to persuade Sesshomaru to kill her. Pandora glared at her and asked coldly, "What are you doing here, human?"

"Nothing concerning you," Ayame bit back just as coldly.

Pandora smirked. "Everything in this castle concerns me."

"Really? Then why don't you go ask Sesshomaru?"

This time, Pandora slapped her before she could blink. "You will respect my Lord and address him as Sesshomaru-sama!"

Without thinking, Ayame turned the bow in her hand with expertise and jabbed one side of it into Pandora's stomach. This time, she had the sharp point of an arrow pointed at Pandora's throat before the demon could retaliate. She hissed vehemently, "It is none of your business what goes on between Sesshomaru and me, nor is it your place to tell me what to do! You're barely a servant, a whore!"

"And what are you?" Pandora was unfazed by the arrow point. "He has not marked you as his mate yet, so you are nothing but his whore either, and a human one at that!"

Ayame's anger rose sharply at her words, but she couldn't help but ask, "Mark me?"

"You don't even know what that is. Then again, Sesshomaru-sama cannot mark a human. It will kill you," Pandora said and laughed.

The anger was soon replaced by fear and doubt. No! It's not true! Ayame shouted at herself and lowered and arrow.

"So what are you going to do now? I suggest you get out of here as fast as possible, before he gets tired of you," Pandora laughed evilly again as she left, leaving Ayame standing numbly in the hallway.

Still dazed, she returned to the weapon room and found a small bow for Rin. She knew it was probably the best if she asked Sesshomaru what Pandora was talking about, but she needed some time. Maybe teaching Rin will take her mind off of it. For once, she didn't want to worry about her relationship with Sesshomaru. She just wanted to believe that everything was fine between them and that she could stay with him forever once she becomes a demon.

"What took you so long? I was so bored." Rin pouted once she came down the stairs.

"Sorry, Rin. It was kind of hard to find a bow small enough to fit you," she teased the girl and gave her the bow and some arrows she had found.

Rin, seeing her new weapon, bounded up and down while dragging Ayame back outside, completely forgetting just how unhappy she was seconds before.

"Here, you hold it like this and jus pull." Ayame bent down and helped Rin position herself.

"It's so hard," Rin grunted as she tried to hold the arrow and the bow at the same time.

"You're just too weak."

"I'm not weak!" Rin replied indignantly. "I just need more practice!" She struggled with the bow and aimed for the circle Ayame had drawn on the tree not too far away.

"Make sure you've pulled it back as far as you could and that you are aiming at the right place. Next, all you have to do is let go."

Ayame watched with satisfaction as Rin pulled the arrow back against the string of the bow as hard as she could and let it fly. She smiled when she saw the arrow sticking in the tree, only that it was a little farther off from the target.

"It's so far away from the point," Rin mumbled unhappily.

"Don't worry about it. After all, practice makes perfect." Ayame told the little girl and started helping her prepare again.

Three hours later, Rin was worn out completely. She couldn't do anything anymore. Yet, the three hours hadn't been a waste, since the girl could not shoot pretty well within a ten feet distance, which Ayame thought was pretty good for a little girl like Rin.

As for her, she didn't know that teaching could be so hard and taxing. She had barely done anything, but she felt just as tired as yesterday, when she had shot the arrow against Inuyasha's attack, or maybe she really hasn't fully recovered yet.

"I'm hungry! Let's go eat!" Rin suddenly jumped up and ran back to the castle.

'Ayame grabbed the bow and arrows and chased after the little girl. _Geez, where does she get all that energy from? _

Two servants brought out the food, one plate for her and another for Rin. She felt nauseous as soon as she smelled the food. _God, why is this happening again?_ She recalled that she had felt the same way just the day before Naraku had kidnapped her. Had it only been a few days ago? It felt like ages had passed since then.

"Ayame, are you OK?" Rin asked with worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to…" She didn't get to finish her sentence as whatever was in her stomach all came back up. She wasn't even able to move as she vomited all over the floor.

"Eww…!" Rin and the maids jumped as the world stopped spinning slowly in front of her eyes. Someone handed her a towel and she wiped her mouth clean.

"Rin, I'm going back to my room. Whatever you do, just be careful, OK?" she said to the little girl.

"All right." Rin nodded, her young face still filled with worry.

Ayame smiled at her as best as she could and walked out of the kitchen in a daze. She felt as if the world before her would spin anytime as she headed upstairs to her room. Even though Sesshomaru and she are together now, she didn't dare going to his room despite the fact he had carried her there last night. Sometimes she just didn't know what to do at this place.

Once she was in her room, she climbed in bed and relaxed. The nausea was mostly gone. _I'll just take a nap_, she thought as her eyes fluttered closed, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Sesshomaru returned to the castle long after sunset. He had spent the entire day searching for the Shikon shards and only found one. The task was rather annoying and tiresome, since he couldn't see the shard while the youkai was using it. He could only feel its tainted power drawing him toward it like it drew any other youkai.

He wouldn't have cared a bit for the shards if it wasn't for Ayame. He didn't need the power of the Shikon to grant him any wish. He only searched for the Shikon because he didn't want to place her in danger while searching for the shards.

As he walked into the dark castle, he listened for any sound and found only a few. Most of the servants were already asleep. He listened for Ayame and heard her even breathing coming from her old room. She was apparently already asleep. He felt unreasonably angry that she didn't wait for him and that she wasn't in his room. He shouldn't really care.

As he passed Rin's room, the door opened a bit and the girl peeked out from her room. "Sesshomaru-sama?" she called out tentatively.

"What is it, Rin?" he asked. The girl should be asleep, not staying up this late.

"Have you seen Ayame yet? She was acting very weird today."

Sesshomaru easily picked out the worry streaked across the little girl's face. His heart jumped as he hoped that nothing had happened to Ayame. A lot of times he still hated these useless emotions and wondered how it had happened, but whenever he saw Ayame, he could care less about his emotions. He could withstand anything as long as she was with him.

"What are you speaking of, Rin?"

"She taught me archery in the morning. Then we went to eat lunch when we were tired. But…but when the maids brought out the food, Ayame turned pale and vomited," Rin whispered.

Vomit? "I'm going to see her now. Go to sleep, Rin."

"Yes sir." The little girl bowed and closed the door as she returned to her room.

Sesshomaru was in Ayame's room in a few seconds. His eyes fell directly on the lump in the bed. "Ayame?" he called softly.

There was no answer. All he could see under the comforter was the color of gold, Ayame's hair. Pulling the comforter away, he saw her sleeping there peacefully with her long golden hair falling over her body like a layer of silk. He frowned. Maybe it was the moonlight playing tricks on his eyes, but she definitely looks paler than this morning.

He bent over her and brushed his hand over her face. She whispered his name, as if sensing his presence in the room. His vision focused on the white skin of her shoulder blade. His eyes turned red as his instincts took hold of him. More than anything, he wanted to mark her as his mate, but he couldn't. The poison transferred through the mark into her body would kill her even though the lowest youkai could withstand it.

Instead, he reigned in the wildness inside of him and lied down beside her. He held her close even as she snuggled further into his chest. "My mate," he whispered those words lovingly. He kissed her lightly before closing his eyes and succumbing to the sweet darkness.

* * *

**A/N: A lot of things happened in this chapter, but I managed to end it not in a cliffhanger lol.**

**Note: For the fluff around Sesshomaru's shoulder, since no one really agreed on it being one thing, I settled on it being his pelt. **

**Plz plz REVIEW!!!!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

When Ayame woke up the next morning, she was content to find Sesshomaru beside her. His sleeping face portrayed nothing of his cold nature. It would be great if they could stay like this forever, with no worries and just each other.

"He has not marked you as his mate yet…" She heard Pandora's voice and sighed. _Mark me, huh?_ She wondered how it would feel and what would be the difference. Weren't things good enough as they were now? Deep down, she knew the answer was "no", despite telling herself that staying by his side was enough. She wanted to be his mate, to be with him forever, to provide children for him. To do this, she had to become a demon, so that no one would look down on her, or on him.

_Naraku was right. I am an embarrassment for him._ She let out a another deep sigh as to not let the distressing thoughts get the better of her. _I just need something to eat,_ she thought, since she hadn't eaten anything yesterday. Now she was famished and feeling a lot better.

However, as she tried to get up, Sesshomaru's arms tightened around her instinctively. She tried to move again and the same thing happened. It was no use. She couldn't get out and she didn't want to wake him either. _What am I going to do now? _

The door creaked open just then. Rin poked her head through the door. She tiptoed in the room and closed the door behind her. Although the door only made a slight noise, Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open. He looked at door, where Rin stood. The little girl pouted when she saw that she was discovered, but jumped on the bed nonetheless.

"Rin wanted to surprise you," she said as she climbed in Ayame's lap.

"You'll get another chance, when Sesshomaru isn't around." Ayame smiled while looking at Sesshomaru. He didn't say anything and only watched them with amusement.

"Now, let's go down to eat breakfast." Rin jumped off the bed. Ayame followed her, only to be pulled back by Sesshomaru.

"Rin, leave us. I have to talk with Ayame."

Despite the disappointment on her face, the little girl nodded and ran out.

"Can't this wait?" Ayame asked with annoyance. She really looked forward to eating since she was starving.

Sesshomaru ignored her tone and simply said as evenly as usual, "I heard that you did not feel well yesterday."

_Oh, so he's worried._ She smiled softly. "I'm fine now. You don't have to worry about me. But where were you yesterday?"

The amused glint never left his eyes as he dressed. She never saw where it came from. One minute he was just standing there and the next, a small Shikon shard appeared in his hand. She didn't even have time to be surprised as the familiar pain washed over her. Then he was right there beside her, holding her and giving her strength.

He placed the shard in her hands and closed her fingers over it. She took a deep breath to clear away the pain and focused. Her powers responded immediately, purifying the shard. Something was different. As she purified the shard, she felt as if she had done it thousands of times instead of having just learned to do it.

"Did you find this?" she asked Sesshomaru as she stared at the purified shard within her hand.

He nodded. "I was looking for them yesterday."

_Aww, that's so sweet,_ she wanted to say, but knew that he wouldn't appreciate it. Nonetheless, he had found the shard for her.

"You keep it." She gave it back to him. He stared at her in confusion. "This shard is going to be special, because it's your first present to me, so I want to join it with the rest last. It'll be the last piece of the puzzle," she explained and kissed him softly with a dreamy smile.

His face softened as he held the shard in his hand. "A present…" he repeated the word as if he had never heard of it before.

* * *

The next few days passed peacefully. Sesshomaru and Ayame always went out to hunt for the shards, but never too far away from the castle that they couldn't return to it. They only found one more shard other than the first one Sesshomaru had found. At first, Sesshomaru had refused to take her with him, but she managed to convince him to take her. After all, she argued, she was the one who could sense the shard. It would be more efficient to take her so that she could locate the shard and lead him to it.

Besides searching for the shards, Ayame found time to teach Rin archery. Soon, the lessons turned from archery into using other weapons. She also honed her fighting skills with Sesshomaru. He was a much better, but harsher and stricter teacher than Shin was. From the way he scolded her, one would think that they weren't lovers but were only teacher and student.

As Ayame settled into the routine of doing things, the days quickly passed into weeks and weeks into months. Nothing special happened, except for her occasional vomiting when she ate.

Then one day, about two months later, on the day of her birthday, she thought about home after all this time. She was in the library with Sesshomaru, reading a book while Sesshomaru took care of some "business". That was when she realized that she hadn't had her period for the past two months, which was strange, since she had never missed one period in her life since it had started. She always bled every month around the same time. She had just been so busy with everything else that was going on that she had totally forgotten about it. After all, what sane girl would actually miss having her period?

_Oh my god._ Her heard jumped in panic as the only obvious conclusion came to her. _But…but that means…_

Her hand closed over her stomach. She shook her head like crazy. _No! That's impossible! I would've felt it a long time ago. _Then she remembered all the vomiting and felt sick all over again.

_Wouldn't I be showing now?_ She argued with herself.

_It's only been three months! It's still early!_ Another part of her answered.

She couldn't believe it had only been three months since she came to the feudal era. It felt like ages to her.

"Ayame, is something the matter?" Sesshomaru heard her gasp of shock and looked up from whatever he was doing.

She stared at him with blank eyes. She wondered if there was anything wrong with her since she wasn't happy that she had a child growing within her. She had Sesshomaru's child. It was what she wanted, right? However, she couldn't deny the fact that Sesshomaru treated his own brother coldly because Inuyasha was a hanyou. If she was really pregnant, this child would be hanyou too. Will Sesshomaru accept the child?

"I…" She shook her head. She couldn't tell him, at least not now. She had to be sure about it, even though deep down she knew she was right.

She was pregnant with Sesshomaru's child.

The next day, when they were about to leave to search for the Shikon shards again, Ayame excused herself by saying that she wasn't feeling well. She persuaded Sesshomaru to leave by himself, telling him that she would just rest. An hour after Sesshomaru left, she left the castle and went to the nearest village.

Once she arrived, she asked for the doctor in the village. The villagers took her to a small hut at the edge of the village where the medicine woman was. She was an old lady around fifty years old with long gray hair and a warm smile.

"Aiko-sama, this girl wants to ask ya something," the middle-aged man who took Ayame to the hut said.

"Oh? Come in. Is your daughter better, Otobe?"

"Yes, she'll be up tomorrow. It's all thanks for your medicine. Now I have go back to work. Bye."

"Bye." The old lady waved off the villager and turned to face Ayame. "So how can I help you, child?"

"I…" Ayame wasn't sure how to explain her situation. Aiko-sama waited patiently. "Well, you see, I think I am pregnant. I just want to make sure."

"Give me your wrist, child," Aiko-sama said kindly.

Ayame did as she was told. Aiko-sama placed her hand over Ayame's pulse. After a few seconds of silence, the old lady finally said, "Yes, I'm afraid you are right."

Ayame sighed with relief.

"If I may ask," Aiko-sama began.

"Yes?"

"Is the father a youkai?"

Ayame's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?"

"I can tell the difference between a hanyou and a human child's pulse. Do you plan on keeping the child?"

"Yes!" There was no hesitation in Ayame. Aiko-sama looked rather troubled at her answer. "What is it?"

"There is always danger to the mother when giving birth to a hanyou due to the body's difference. The human body was not made meant to carry a half-demon child. That is not to say that this always happens. I just wish to warn you."

"Thank you for the warning, Aiko-sama." She really was grateful for the old lady, who helped her despite her being a stranger to the village. Besides, not everyone would be so kind to a human carrying a hanyou. "But this child is very important to me."

"Well, I suppose it is your decision."

"Thank you again. Now I must go. The child's father is waiting for me."

"Good luck."

Ayame bowed slightly and left.

On her way back to the castle, she thought about all the different ways she could tell Sesshomaru the news.

She was really pregnant.

Although the thought wasn't comforting, especially when she thought about Sesshomaru's attitude toward Inuyasha. _What if he hates our child? What if he hates me? What if he finally decides that it couldn't work between us? What if…_ All the doubts she had before came back to haunt her tenfold.

She was glad when she returned to that castle that Sesshomaru was still away. She still hadn't worked up the courage to tell him yet. She locked herself in her room and paced back and forth, doubtlessly wearing a hole on the floor, but she couldn't sit still. She was terrified of what would happen when she finally gives the news to Sesshomaru, but at the same time, she couldn't not tell him. She just couldn't keep this all to herself. Besides, as the father, he had the right to know.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Welcome back!" From her room, she heard Jaken's voice outside. She peered out of the window. There he was, standing in the clearing. She didn't sense any Shikon shards, so that meant he spent another day searching in vain. He was not in a good mood. Yet, she couldn't really put off the inevitable any longer.

She rushed out of her room and down the stairs to meet him. In her hurry, she tripped on the stairs. With a scream, she fell forward. Her hands automatically covered her stomach to protect the baby. However, instead of hitting the hard ground below, Sesshomaru was there to catch her.

"Be careful, Ayame," he scolded as he put her down.

"Sorry," she said contritely.

"You stink of humans." He wrinkled his nose.

"Oh really?" Maybe she should've bathed before coming down to see Sesshomaru. She always seemed to forget how sensitive his nose was. "Anyway, I need to talk to you."

When he just stood there and waited, she let out an exasperated sigh. "Alone!"

He raised an arrogant eyebrow at her tone. She glared at him defiantly. He swept past her and headed upstairs. "We'll go to my room."

She followed him and closed the door behind her after entering his room. Sesshomaru simply stood there, staring at her, waiting. She fidgeted and wrung her hands.

"Well?" he asked expectantly after a few minutes.

"Sesshomaru, I…" She couldn't say the words. "I…"

"What is it, Ayame?" He was fast on his way to becoming annoyed. That wasn't good. She needed him as calm as possible for the news.

"I'm pregnant!" She closed her eyes and shouted.

Silence.

She opened her eyes a little and peeked. He hadn't moved. He still stood at the same spot. His eyes were narrowed as he glared at her, as if deciding whether she was playing a bad joke on him.

"Sesshomaru?" She finally opened her eyes completely.

He didn't answer.

"Do you not accept our child?" she asked without any more delay. That was, after all, the most important question. When he only looked at her with that cold expression as if he didn't know her at all, her heart shattered.

"Why?" A single word escaped her throat before it was constricted with tears.

He was in front of her in the blink of an eye. His hand touched her fact gently like many times before, wiping away the tears. Yet, when he spoke, his tone was different, like the first time she had met him, devoid of affection and filled with disdain for the child she carried. "Ayame, I cannot have a hanyou child."

The silence that followed was the worst. Neither of them said anything. Ayame fought back the pain caused by his words while Sesshomaru tried to find the best way for her to understand, for he knew that mothers develop an immense love for their kids, even if they were not born yet.

"So that's it? Just because you hate hanyous?" She stepped away from him. Deep down, she knew this day would come as long as she was a human, but she had hoped, desperately, that it would never come, at least not this soon. "This is your child we are talking about, your flesh and blood, Sesshomaru, not just any hanyou. Why does it matter that the child is a hanyou?"

Sesshomaru once again returned to being the imposing and threatening lord of the castle. "Even if it is my child," he bit off the word with hate and disgust, "that does not change the fact it is a hanyou. Hanyous belong to nowhere, not with the humans nor with youkais."

She knew what he meant. No one in this world would accept her child once it is born into this world. Both youkais and humans would despise him, much like what had happened with Inuyasha, but at least the child would have a heart, unlike his father.

"Then I suppose hanyous are worse than humans in your eyes?" she asked him icily, trying not to be intimidated by him.

"Yes."

"What would you do if I want to keep our child?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed in anger. "He will not be welcomed in this castle, nor on my land."

"I understand."

She bowed to him, for the first time since she had met him. Then, she turned and prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sesshomaru was suddenly in front of her blocking the door.

"Anywhere, as long as I'm not in your castle or your land!" she spit back fiercely and decided to use her powers on him.

With a jolt, Sesshomaru leapt back from her and growled dangerously as they faced one another. "You will not leave!"

Though she wanted to fight, to hurt him as badly as he had hurt her, she had no strength. It was taking all of her strength to simply hold back the tears and not break down right there and cry. "Go find yourself another mate, Sesshomaru-sama!" She swallowed the tears and tried to push past him to get to the door.

Sesshomaru did not budge from his spot. This time, he had his composure back. "You are my mate."

She refused to let his words give her hope. "Oh, is that why you never marked me?" She hated to whine, but she couldn't help it.

Sesshomaru lifted a brow at this. "Who told you about the marking?"

"Does it really matter? You say that I am your mate, but obviously you have others in mind for that position."

She didn't think her words would trigger any reaction from him. However, the next thing she knew, he had pinned her against the wall. One of his hands held both of her wrists high above her head.

"Do you really want me to mark you?" he snarled as his other hand traced the curve of her neck. She shivered. "You will die!"

"Die?" The thought of dying no longer scared her as it once did.

"Yes. The mating mark between demons contains a poison for me to slightly control you if I wish. However, only youkais could stand the poison, no matter how weak they are, but humans cannot. Your body will deteriorate from the poison until you die from the inside out.

"How long will it take for the poison to kill me?"

"I am not certain. No youkai had ever marked a human before." His eyes met hers. "Do you want it now?"

"No. I want to give birth to my child first."

Sesshomaru's teeth clenched at the mention of the child. "The child will have nothing but suffering in this world." He released his hold on her but didn't move back one inch.

"He won't if he belongs, right?"

Somehow, the idea just occurred to her. If it was so important to everyone that the child wasn't a hanyou, then she'll give the child that chance. When Sesshomaru didn't say anything, she continued, "He'll be a real youkai when I become one, or, if he was born before I piece together the Shikon, the Shikon can change him into a youkai."

_And I'll be a human forever._ Although she didn't say them, the words hang in the air between them.

"Ayame, give up this child. There will be others when you're a youkai."

She shook her head gently. "No. This one is special. There might be others, but this is our first child." She kissed him lightly and said, "I have to do this. I'll never forgive myself if I kill my child."

This time, when she turned to go, Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around you. "You can't do it alone." His voice was soft yet strong, but the meaning was clear.

She studied him, afraid to let the hope within her grow. "Do you mean it?"

His sigh was so soft that she almost didn't hear it, almost. "You're my mate. I cannot lose you."

Her face broke into a smile. "Thank you."

Then she proceeded to show him just exactly how grateful she was.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, medicatedbliste, crazy blonde woman, and spank the grinch. I hope this chapter was what you're hoping for? Lol.**

**and of course, REVIEWS are always much appreciated!!!!!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Ayame held the large Shikon shard in her hand and allowed her power to flow through the jewel. Looking intently, she could see a transparent image of the missing shards. There were only a few shards left until it was complete.

"Ten. Ten of them left," she muttered to herself after she finished counting. That meant other than the one that Sesshomaru had, they had to find nine more of them.

"Ayame!" Rin burst into the room with a cheerful smile as usual.

"Are we ready?" Ayame tucked the Shikon in a pocket and smiled at the little girl.

"Sesshomaru-sama said we can go now!" The little girl grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door.

"OK. I'm going. I'm going." She laughed at Rin's enthusiasm as she followed the little girl outside.

At first, when Sesshomaru and she had decided to leave the castle to find the rest of the shards three days ago, she had thought it was a bad idea to bring Rin since she was such a defenseless little girl. However, later she understood that was exactly why Sesshomaru always kept Rin by his side no matter where he went. Rin was completely defenseless without Sesshomaru. If she was left alone at the castle full of demons without protection, there was no telling what the servants would do. Being a human herself, Ayame could tell that most of the servants hated the little girl and would get rid of her mercilessly if Sesshomaru was not around.

"Do you know where we are going? Sesshomaru-sama would not tell Rin," the little girl asked as they descended the stairs.

"I don't know exactly."

She didn't want to tell Rin, but they were going to find Inuyasha and Kagome first. Then they were going to find Naraku. She planned on killing that hanyou once and for all after taking whatever shards he had. Although Sesshomaru never showed his feelings, he wouldn't pass an opportunity to destroy Naraku either. If there were still more shards left to be found after that, she was just going to follow her instinct and try to sense the shards. After all, the jewel was a part of her.

They traveled for an entire day and finally stopped when it was about sunset. They still haven't found Inuyasha and Kagome, but Sesshomaru was certain they were heading in the right direction. Ayame also felt the presence of some Shikon shards from the same direction.

They were just setting up a campfire to cook some food when Sesshomaru suddenly stiffened. "Jaken, stay here with Rin. Ayame, let's go."

Ayame followed him away from the camp while all the time wondering if Jaken and Rin would be all right by themselves. "Where are we going?" she asked several minutes later.

"Inuyasha is close. And there is something else…"

"Something else?"

The words barely left her lips before the sudden pain crippled her. Her knees buckled. She would've fallen if Sesshomaru hadn't caught her.

"Ayame, what is wrong?" His voice was tinged with worry.

"The Shikon…so many…" she gasped. Her entire body burned as if she was aflame. What was happening? Even if there were a lot of Shikon shards, they shouldn't affect her like this while she was so far away.

"So many?"

"Yes…but…but it doesn't….feel…right…" The shards were definitely tainted, but something feels different about these shards. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something wasn't right.

Sesshomaru lifted her easily in his arms and carried her. He needn't her to tell him where the shards were, for he scented Inuyasha and his group of humans not far away ahead of them deeper in the forest. He knew that Inuyasha must be involved with whatever Ayame had felt.

He leaped from place to place while carrying her in his arms protectively. The faster he gets there and kill whatever was tainting the Shikon, the faster the pain would disappear for Ayame.

"Shikon…Shikon No Tama…"

Ayame heard the ghostlike voice seconds before something shot out of the forest too fast for her eyes to see. She could only sense that it was a demon. However, Sesshomaru didn't slow down at all. He shifted her to his right arm and wrapped his pelt around her protectively. Instinctually, she looped her arms around his neck so that she wouldn't fall off. Next thing she knew, the pieces of the demon's body dropped all around her.

"Eww…it's disgusting." Her stomach did an odd flip, but fortunately she didn't throw up. She didn't think Sesshomaru would take it very kindly if she vomited all over him.

As they moved deeper into the forest, more youkais attacked. Sesshomaru killed all of them easily. Ayame sensed a Shikon shard within all of these demons, but like before, these shards felt different from the one that Sesshomaru carried. It was as if they weren't the same as the real Shikon, but they had something familiar that was giving off the presence of the Shikon.

"Kaze no Kizu!"

Upon hearing the voice, Sesshomaru stopped. They were no longer in the forest, but at the other side of it, at a clearing where Inuyasha and the gang was fighting with a hanyou—a bull demon. The bull demon dodged Inuyasha's attack and suddenly spun around to face Ayame.

"You! You have the real Shikon no Tama!"

The youkai then completely ignored Inuyasha and started to charge toward her. Sesshomaru jumped and landed beside Kagome. He put Ayame down and said sternly, "Stay here."

Before Ayame could protest, he drew out Tokijin and joined the battle.

"Ayame, what are you doing here?" Kagome asked as she fought off the other weaker youkais.

"I'm trying to find the rest of the shards," she replied, still feeling weak, although she could easily purify the puny youkais that tried to attack her. "What's going on here? Why do I sense so many Shikon shards?"

"That bull demon is using people's souls to make the Shikon No Tama. He hadn't perfected it, but these fake shards have some of the Shikon's power. He wants to make a real one so that he could become a human instead of staying as a hanyou."

Kagome's words suddenly reminded her of her unborn child. Will her child suffer the same fate? Ayame shook the thought away. "Make the Shikon no Tama, but how?" She didn't understand. "And if anyone could simply make the Shikon no Tama, then why didn't they do it before?"

"Because it's basically impossible to make the Shikon," Miroku, who had overhead their conversation, replied from where he fought off the demons. His words reminded Ayame that the Shikon was an accident, not something that Midoriko had planned on.

"But how do you make the Shikon?"

"First off, to understand the Shikon, you must know that everything in this world is made from four spiritual elements, which are strength, happiness, harmony, and mystery. If you put the four spirits together, they make up the soul and heart of a physical body. The Shikon no Tama is made from these souls, but no one actually knows how many of these souls containing the four spirits one will need to make the Shikon."

"So he is using demon and human souls to make the Shikon?" Ayame asked once again just to make sure.

"Yes."

"Well, he's failing miserably."

Miroku's answer was a strained smile.

"Kagome, did you find any more shards?" Ayame asked as she waited for the battle to be over.

At first, Kagome looked confused, then thoughtful. She hesitated and replied, "No."

"You're such a bad liar, Kagome." She already knew Kagome had at least one or two shards with her. She was feeling much better now that they had destroyed most of the youkais with the fake shards, which had disappeared along with their user. Thus, seeing that Inuyasha was kept busy, and so was Miroku and Sango, she lunged at Kagome.

However, this time, Kagome was prepared. She took her shards and deliberately shone them in front of Ayame's face. Ayame collapsed on the ground as the waves of pain washed over her body. _Damn it!_

From a distance, she heard Inuyasha use Kaze no Kizu once again. The bull demon screamed as the attack finally sliced through him and ended his life. The next thing Ayame knew, Sesshomaru was lifting her up from the ground.

"I can stand," she said to him softly, feeling somewhat ridiculous that he had to carry her all the time.

Sesshomaru looked hesitant to let her go at first, but at her reassuring nod, he placed her on her feet gently.

"So you're here for the shards again? We won't let you get any this time!" Sango was the first one to speak.

"Move away, human!" Sesshomaru warned menacingly.

"Hiraikotsu!" Instead of listening, the youkai exterminator attacked.

Sesshomaru used Tokijin to fling away the boomerang. Then, before anyone else could move a muscle, he was in front of Kagome.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha pulled out Tetsusaiga at the same time Sesshomaru grabbed the shards from around Kagome's neck. Ayame caught a glimpse of the shards. Before it drained her strength once again, she turned away swiftly and stared into a pair of red eyes glittering with evil.

"Naraku!" She recognized his youki instantly and wondered how come no one sensed him earlier. How did a youkai like him hide his youki?

"Ahh!!!" Ayame screamed when something wrapped around both of her ankles and lifted her up from the ground, but she dropped back down almost immediately, as Sesshomaru had cut the thing to pieces.

_I don't think I'll ever get used to this,_ she thought when another vine wrapped around her and pulled her toward Naraku while many others shot out of Naraku's body and attacked the rest of the group.

"Let go of me, you asshole!" She pushed at the vines that held her and used her power to destroy it. Yet, there was no end to them. As soon as she destroyed one, another would replace it.

"Always so feisty, aren't you?" Naraku chuckled wickedly.

Before she could snap back at him, he threw five shards around her. She screamed again as searing pain enveloped her from all sizes, leaving her paralyzed in her chains. _Damn him!_ She gritted her teeth as she tried to find feelings in her limbs, but it was no use. Her body had become numb.

Then something hit her. _He only has five shards!_ The realization made her smile with irony. At least, on the bright side, she didn't have to worry about being absorbed. Bit by bit, the vines wrapped themselves around her until they completely surrounded her in darkness. She couldn't even hear the sounds of fighting anymore. Still, she had faith in Sesshomaru. He would save her.

Yet, why did Naraku want her? To threaten Sesshomaru? That hadn't worked before, not completely anyway. She didn't have the Shikon shard with her, since she had given it to Sesshomaru for safekeeping. She was completely useless to Naraku. Why would he risk Sesshomaru's wrath like this?

Ayame wasn't sure how much time had passed before the vines around her finally started to retreat, although the five shards still held her immobile. She saw that she was in a dark empty room with no windows anywhere. She couldn't even discern the entrance or the exit. She was probably in one of Naraku's castles, and standing in front of her was the devil himself.

"What do you want? I can't and won't do anything for you!"

Naraku had that familiar arrogant smirk on his face as he walked toward her. He stopped inches away from her, his body almost touching her. He traced her collarbone lightly. She shuddered from his cold touch.

"It looks like Sesshomaru does not wish you to be his mate." Ayame said nothing and waited for him to finish. "I really have no use for you, wench, but I want your child."

Her face paled. "How… how did you know…?"

He ignored her question and said musingly, "Although I am surprised that you managed to convince Sesshomaru to let you keep this hanyou child. You must be important to him after all."

"Leave my child out of this, you bastard!"

His smile was one of pure evil. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, the hanyou you carry within you is special. Since he has the bloodline of a powerful youkai and a miko, he will have both powers."

"He? I have a son?"

"Yes. Aren't you happy I told you the gender of the child? "

She growled and would've given him a good kick if she could move. "I will die before I let my son work for the likes of you!"

"You will die once you give birth, but for now, you will work for me."

"You can't make me!"

He smiled, baring a pair of sharp canines that weren't there before. Ayame suddenly understood what he meant to do as he trailed kisses down her neck toward her collarbone and nipped at it.

"I will die from the poison if you mark me," she told him.

"Yes, but only after you give birth. Your miko blood will hold off this little amount of poison unless I force it to increase. I could control you all the while if I wish."

At the prick of pain coming from her collarbone, Ayame struggled to no avail. The Shikon shards held her in place.

"No! Stop!" she screamed when his fangs completely sunk inside her skin. As she felt the strength draining from her body because of the poison, she closed her eyes and let the tears fall. _Sesshomaru, I'm sorry._

Ayame couldn't feel anything, not pain, not joy, nothing, as Naraku's poison worked its way through her body. She noticed that the Shikon shards had disappeared. _If he's so sure that he can control me, he better think again!_ She tried to move, but to her horror, she couldn't feel her body at all.

At first, she was staring at the floor, but her vision shifted, though she couldn't possibly have moved her head. She was face to face with Naraku.

He smirked. "How does it feel to have a body that you can't control?"

Everything suddenly clicked into place. She couldn't feel her body even though her mind was clear. The poison from his mark gave him complete control of her physical body, but not her mind.

"You bastard!" she yelled, but no sound came out.

He laughed maliciously. "You want to speak? Then I shall be kind enough to let you have your voice back and maybe even a little control."

Instantly, feeling returned to her limbs. Ayame lunged at him. "You son-of-a-bitch!"

Just as her punch was about to connect with his smirking face, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against his hard body. The last thing she felt before all feelings disappeared was his cold lips against hers. Doubtlessly he'd planned that as well.

"Here! Sesshomaru is coming. Go give him a nice little surprise, my slave." She watched as Naraku threw her a quiver of arrows and a bow. Even without any feeling, she knew that her body caught it.

Wondering if her voice still worked, she said with menace, "He'll save me and kill you." Surprising, it was still there. Naraku had yet to take it away.

"He can't save you unless he destroys me first," he said in his usual arrogant tone and disappeared.

Suddenly, she was facing a wall. Then she realized it was the door as part of slid open to reveal a hallway. The scene around her kept changing as her body moved until she was finally out of the castle. It was a disorienting feeling, as if she was watching a movie from behind a glass screen, except she was inside one of the character's mind. It was a feeling she never want to have again.

Soon, she was walking in the forest. She didn't know how long she walked until finally, the scene around her stopped moving. Several seconds later, Sesshomaru jumped out of the trees. He looked immensely relieved as he strode toward her.

"Ayame, you're not hurt." His relief was tinged with confusion.

She wanted to shake her head. _No! Get away!_ she screamed in her head, but of course, nothing came out. She could only watch helplessly as she let fly a purifying arrow, one aimed at Sesshomaru's heart.

_No!_

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**A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I didn't want to get too technical explaining about the science behind the Shikon. If you're confused, I got this from episode 94 and 95.**

**Plz REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Nothing much to say. It's getting close to finals -_-''. Thanks for the reviews!!! Enjoy!!!**

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**Chapter Thirteen**

Wielding Tokijin, Sesshomaru slashed the vines down as they attacked him. He saw Ayame being swallowed up in the vines and sprinted toward her, only to be forced back as more of those vines threw themselves at him.

"Sesshomaru, the woman and the child will both be mine!" Naraku said with conceit not far ahead of him. Through the vines that blocked his way, Sesshomaru saw Naraku's shouki wrap around Naraku and Ayame. They soon disappeared as the vines still held him back.

"Naraku, you bastard!"

Furious, Sesshomaru wiped out all the vines with one attack. Since Naraku had already escaped, they stopped coming back to life. Without giving Inuyasha or the humans another glance, he chased after Naraku, but was repelled by Naraku's barrier almost immediately.

_That coward! I will kill him._ He snarled and whirled around to face Inuyasha, knowing that he had the barrier breaking Tetsusaiga.

Inuyasha didn't need Sesshomaru to tell him what to do. Tetsusaiga was already red. "Get out of the way!" he shouted. Sesshomaru moved just as Inuyasha attacked with Kaze no Kizu. The barrier broke off instantly.

Sesshomaru chased after Naraku and Ayame without waiting, but was aware that Inuyasha and the humans were right behind him. He didn't give a damn. All he cared about was saving Ayame from Naraku. In his gut, he had a very bad feeling about this. He just hoped that he could save her before Naraku could do anything.

_Where did he go?_ He stopped once he was deeper in the forest and sniffed. Though Naraku's scent was still there, it came from every direction. There was no scent of Ayame at all. Sesshomaru couldn't decide which way to give chase.

"You can't find where he went either, huh?" Inuyasha and his gang appeared behind him.

"Tell me, where did he go?" Sesshomaru asked them, namely the human girl from the future. He knew she could sense the Shikon shards. Therefore she should be able to tell which direction Naraku went.

"Why should we?" Inuyasha bit back insolently.

Sesshomaru give a low menacing growl, letting them know that he was in no mood to play their little games.

"Inuyasha, sit!" the human girl shouted. Inuyasha fell face flat on the ground. Then she turned to him and asked hesitantly, "Uh….back there, Naraku said something about a child. Is Ayame pregnant?"

His first reaction was to deny it, but there was no point in lying. "Yes."

He read the stunned look on their faces. They must know that the child will be a hanyou and wondered what he would do with it. Honestly, he hadn't thought about it. He just knew that he couldn't allow Ayame to leave him, child or not.

"Which way did Naraku go?" he asked the human girl again.

"That way." The girl pointed to his right.

He gave her a small nod and left.

A few minutes later, he stopped moving when he felt Ayame's presence without Naraku's. _What's going on?_ Ayame could not have escaped this easily, could she?

Soon, Ayame appeared from within the trees. He couldn't deny the relief he felt when he saw her unharmed. He didn't even care if it showed on his face. However, he was still confused. Where was Naraku? Could this be a trick of some kind?

"Ayame, you're not hurt." He almost winced from the relief he heard in his own voice. He headed toward her calmly, glad that she was safe.

He caught the movement when he was inches away from Ayame. She was a lot faster than usual, so that he almost did not detect it. She strung an arrow to the bow she was carrying and fired.

Straight at his heart.

Astonished, he dodged, but the arrow destroyed part of his armor as it passed by him. "What are you doing?" He stared at Ayame, who didn't move from her spot.

"Ahh!! Where the hell did this come from?" Inuyasha's scream came from somewhere in the trees where the arrow had gone after Sesshomaru dodged it.

"Sesshomaru…go…go away…" Ayame's face was expressionless, but her voice was filled with despair.

He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but agony in there. "What did he do to you?" He tried to reach her again, but this time, the arrow she fired was a lot more powerful than the previous one. He had no chances of getting to her without taking some serious injuries himself.

"He's…he's controlling…" Her voice grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Inuyasha burst out of the trees all of a sudden right in between Sesshomaru and Ayame and barely missed being killed by the third arrow.

"Sesshomaru." Naraku appeared behind Ayame in the trees dressed in his baboon pelt.

"Naraku, what did you do with her?" Sesshomaru growled.

"Isn't it obvious? I am controlling her."

"How?"

Then he spotted it, a dark mark on Ayame's collarbone. Everything suddenly made sense. Naraku had dared to mark Ayame as his mate. That damned hanyou dared to take what was already his. Sesshomaru felt himself losing control. The air around him started to pick up. His eyes turned red first as he slowly started to transform into his true form.

"Sesshomaru, do you plan on killing her and your child?" Naraku's words stopped him.

No, he couldn't transform. He couldn't risk hurting Ayame and his child. Naraku was right for once.

Sesshomaru gradually regained control of himself. "Naraku, you will pay for this."

Naraku's answer was a rude laugh. "Good luck, Sesshomaru," he said and disappeared into the darkness.

"Damn him!" Inuyasha scowled behind Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru couldn't agree more. The only way to free Ayame was to kill Naraku, but he couldn't just leave her like this. Before he could decide what to do, Inuyasha shot past him toward where Naraku had disappeared, but a barrier repelled him.

"Stupid barriers!" Inuyasha muttered with annoyance and used Tetsusaiga to attack again. Yet, this time, Ayame was suddenly in front of the attack. She strung an arrow faster than ever and fired it at Inuyasha. The arrow's force pierced through Inuyasha's attack and would have hit Inuyasha if Kagome hadn't sent one of her arrows to intercept it.

"What are we going to do?" Kagome asked rather despondently.

_Yes, what can we do?_ Sesshomaru hated this feeling of hopelessness and fear that ran through him, not to mention the side of him that just urged him to transform and destroy everything in his path, including Ayame. However, he couldn't hurt Ayame, but without hurting Ayame he couldn't get to Naraku to save her.

Either way, it was a lose-lose situation he couldn't get out of.

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As Ayame watched from the darkness through her eyes, the battle continued on. She kept on stopping Inuyasha from destroying Naraku's barrier. Inuyasha would get extremely pissed off and try to harm her, but Sesshomaru would always protect her, which always ended up with her trying to shoot Sesshomaru, but he never stopped protecting her. Every time her arrows harmed him, even if it was just a scratch, she felt a part of her break.

_I have to do something! I just have to!_ She looked around frantically but saw nothing but darkness. "Come on! You're my body! You can't listen to some stupid poison and not me!" she screamed into the darkness and stomped around. _I must be going insane, talking to my own body._

There must be some way for her to get out. "No! Sesshomaru!" she yelled as she saw one of her arrow pierce through his shoulder. He winced but still protected her. "No! Stay away!" She knew she was crying by then, even if she couldn't feel anything. "Stay away!"

"Let me out! Damn you, Naraku! Damn you!"

"Having fun?"

Naraku suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her from seeing what was happening outside.

"Give my body back to me!" She didn't stop to think how he was in front of him in this darkness or how she was able to pound on him, but Naraku's lower body just changed into vines again and restricted her.

_What the hell?_ She looked down and saw that she was whole, as in she could see herself, completely, with a body and all.

"What did you do to me?" she hissed as she struggled against the vines. She remembered when he first marked her, barely twenty minutes ago, she couldn't feel anything. However, now, she had a body again, one that she could feel and control. However, in the real world, she was still fighting against Sesshomaru. _Just what on earth is happening?_

Then, abruptly, Naraku disappeared. It didn't look like he just left, but it was more like someone sent him away, as in purified him.

"You're in an alternate universe," a voice she recognized suddenly said.

"What the…?" Ayame looked up and saw Midoriko floating above her. "How did you get here?"

"Naraku had locked your spirit within your own body, so you could not control yourself, but since I am part of your spirit, I can talk to you," Midoriko explained.

"So how do I get out?"

"The place where you've been watching what has been happening outside." Midoriko pointed to where she originally thought her "eyes" were. "I will help you get through to the outside, but you'll only be a spirit. You must come back into this body quickly. Then you will be able to fight Naraku's control over you." After speaking, Midoriko slowly disappeared until Ayame was all alone again.

Ayame stared outside, at where Inuyasha was fighting Sesshomaru. They seemed to be ignoring her. Guess they would never get along, no matter how bad the situation was. Bit by bit, she walked forward until she was right in front of the glass that showed her the outside world. She pushed an arm against the thing and saw it pass through.

_Wow._ She was too amazed to be scared of it. She walked right into it. Her entire body passed through it easily. All she felt was a cool air blowing against her skin. The next thing she knew, she was standing in the forest, beside her real body.

She recalled Midoriko's words telling her return to her body quickly and wondered what she meant by that.

"Ayame?" She looked around to see who said her name and saw that it was Kagome. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha have stopped fighting also, well, that was after Sesshomaru sent Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga flying far away.

"You can see me?" She thought Midoriko said that she was a spirit.

At the same time, her body collapsed beside her on the ground. She realized that her body couldn't support itself without a soul, even if Naraku was controlling it. She looked at Sesshomaru. He stared at her expressionlessly as always, but she saw everything she needed in his eyes. His love gave her strength and determination, so that no matter what awaited her when she returned to her body, she would never give up and fight with all she had. Without saying anything, she returned to her body.

Everything was once again dark around her. She was afraid that it hadn't worked, but even though she couldn't see anything, everything felt right, as in she once again had control of her body. It was such a little thing. No one really pay attention to how everything feels until they'd lost it, but she doubted if anyone had ever been in a situation like hers, such as being controlled by a freaky youkai.

She opened her eyes and reveled in the feeling that she was no longer seeing through two glass windows. The first thing she saw was Sesshomaru's handsome face filled with worry. He was holding her in his arms and saying something, but she couldn't quite hear him yet.

"Sessho…" Ayame trailed off when she heard Naraku's voice in her head. _"You won't get off so easily."_

Then she started to convulse as spasms of pain shot through her body. Her control was slipping away from her again. "No! Get away!" she screamed as she felt a sharp burn from where Naraku had bit her. She clutched tight onto Sesshomaru's chest while he held her. "Please, kill him. Please," she begged Sesshomaru, knowing that it was the only way to stop this pain.

She watched in desperation as the image of Sesshomaru faded and knew that she had no more time left. Whenever she tried to return to him, to the surface and back to the real world, a barrier stopped her. She knew that once Naraku dragged her back to her cage, he would not be able to get out again.

"Kill him. Hurry!"

Those were her last words before she was back in the darkness. This time, there was no light. She had no way of knowing what was happening in the outside. She could only hope and pray that Sesshomaru would somehow release her.

_Please let him destroy Naraku. Please._

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Sesshomaru quelled the panic inside of him as Ayame went limp in his arms. He would never get used to this emotion, but he couldn't let her go. The only thing he could do right now was to kill Naraku. Once Inuyasha destroyed the barrier, he lifted Ayame into his arms and leaped into the trees again, heading to Naraku's castle to finish this once and for all.

The closer they were to the castle, the stronger Naraku's scent became until it permeated the air around them. As usual, the castle itself was shrouded in Naraku's shouki. Carrying Ayame inside would be too dangerous, but since Naraku had marked her as his mate, a fact Sesshomaru was still not ready to accept, she was immune to the shouki.

"You finally made it, Sesshomaru." Naraku's mocking tone tipped Sesshomaru off to his location. Without saying anything, he drew Tokijin from his side and sent a wave of lightning toward Naraku. It was a pity Naraku dodged. Sesshomaru wouldn't have minded killing him right there.

"Naraku!" Inuyasha immediately drew his Tetsusaiga as Naraku showed himself in front of them.

"Back off! He's mine!" Sesshomaru snarled at his brother dangerously. He lowered Ayame to the ground and said to the human girl, Kagome, "Look after her!"

He whirled back to face Naraku and was in front of the hanyou in a blink of an eye, "It is time for you to die."

All of a sudden, the shrouding shouki cleared as countless vines shot of Naraku's lower body. Sesshomaru cut all of them away mercilessly with one stroke of Tokijin. He was sick of playing Naraku's little games. Once the vines were clear, he charged at Naraku. However, just as he was about to slice off the hanyou's head, the vines he had destroyed earlier suddenly formed a wall in front of its master, blocking his way.

"Kaze no Kizu!" The words were the only warning Sesshomaru had before the surge of wind arrived. He jumped away, barely avoiding being sliced to pieces like the vines.

"I told you he's mine!" Sesshomaru scowled at his stupid half-brother.

"You were taking too long."

If he wasn't dealing with Naraku, he would've just killed Inuyasha on the spot. However, he had more pressing business to take care of. He shot toward Naraku in lightening speed, but before he could get here, something hit Tokijin and dispelled the sword's jyaki. Backing away, he saw that it was Ayame. She stood to his right while Naraku stood to his left. She was stringing another arrow. Her expression was lifeless just like before.

She was once again under Naraku's control.

"How does it feel, Sesshomaru? To have the one you love turning against you?" Naraku laughed maliciously as another arrow whizzed past Sesshomaru.

"You bastard!"

Sesshomaru ignored Ayame and headed straight toward Naraku. Upon hearing the sound of another arrow being fired, he jumped up and landed behind Naraku. This way, he was behind Naraku and could see him as well as Ayame. He needed to finish Naraku fast to stop him from controlling Ayame.

He recalled her words when she had that moment of control. "Kill him." That was what she said, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Without wasting another moment, Sesshomaru concentrated and gathered all of his powers. He thrust his sword into Naraku's back before the hanyou could move and ignored the vines that surrounded them. In a quick move, he had made four quick slashes, turning Naraku into four lumps of flesh on the ground. However, Naraku wasn't dead yet. He was a hard youkai to kill, and Sesshomaru highly doubted this was Naraku's real body. Yet, he knew that the scar on Naraku's back was where the hanyou kept on regenerating, so he destroyed that part of Naraku.

"If you kill me, the wench will die with me, along with your child," Naraku said as Sesshomaru raised Tokijin over his tattered body.

Startled, Sesshomaru looked to where Ayame stood. She was motionless, very much like a statue. He lowered his sword, once again hating himself for this weakness, but he had often wondered if this was what his father had felt for Inuyasha's mother.

Naraku laughed again as his body slowly disappeared into a cloud of shouki and floated into the air. Sesshomaru watched it disappear as Naraku escaped from death's grasp again. However, before he could decide whether to chase the hanyou or not, Ayame collapsed. He was beside her instantly and caught her before she hit the ground. Staring down at her calm yet pale face, he didn't know if he should hate her or love her.

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**A/N: As always, please REVIEW.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait!!! I had finals, so I had to focus on studying. **

**Warning: First section is a lemon scene. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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**Chapter Fourteen**

Ayame didn't know how long she was trapped in the darkness. However, she sensed it when the darkness began receding. It was as if a pressure lifted off her chest. The numbness from before disappeared. A light appeared in front of her and she ran toward it with all her might.

When she finally reached it, she was greeted with thousands of stars glittering overhead. A soft breeze tickled her face and brought to her the earthy scent of the forest. She sat up and grimaced as the mark on her neck burned, reminding of the recent events.

She glanced around and saw the dying embers of a camp fire. They were situated at the edge of the forest, where the trees opened up to a grassy plain. Rin slept not far away, curled up in fetal position. Jaken was also sleeping, his loud snores rumbling up from his tiny chest. Yet, the one she most wanted to see was nowhere in sight.

_Where is he? He couldn't have just left us here, could he?_ Then she saw him. He sat at the top of a grassy knoll, his back to them, his hair flowing in the night breeze.

Ayame stood up on shaky legs. For a moment she thought she was going to fall back down, but she stayed up. She headed toward Sesshomaru with difficulty, since her legs felt like rubber. He didn't move, even though he no doubt knew she was coming. She sat down beside him, but he still didn't acknowledge her. She studied him, worried. He looked like the usual Sesshomaru, expressionless and cool. _Why wasn't he saying anything?_

"He can still control me, can't he?" she asked, breaking the oppressive silence.

He didn't reply. She didn't need him to, for she already knew the answer. She also understood his silence. His rejection. Her neck throbbed in harsh reminder of what she was, what Naraku had turned her into. Bitter hatred welled up inside of her, but at the same time, sorrow, grief, and desperation all vied to overwhelm her.

Sesshomaru still hadn't said anything. She didn't know what to do, so she followed her instinct. She reached out and touched his face. He finally turned in her direction to look at her with his beautiful golden eyes. She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips across his in a feathery caress. When he didn't respond, she pressed more firmly against him. She wanted to touch him, craved for him to touch her, to make her forget that someone else had marked her.

His response was slow, as if he couldn't make up his mind to kiss her or not. Ayame didn't think she could stand this cold Sesshomaru who didn't want her. What happened to the youkai that had bound her to him? The one that had always taken her with passion until she begged him? An image of Naraku flashed in her back.

"Onna, you're mine," she heard his voice clearly in her head.

Ayame jumped back with a gasp.

"No, no, no!" she whispered furiously as tears started rolling down her face in waves. Her vision blurred until Sesshomaru's shape almost disappeared from her sight. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest. She couldn't do this. Loud sobs wracked her body as the floodgate opened completely. She had never felt so hopeless, so dirty in her life.

She soon found herself wrapped up in a familiar embrace. She didn't understand. What was he doing? He didn't want her, as he had clearly shown earlier. She struggled against him, trying to get away, but his hold on her tightened.

His hand cupped her chin and tilted her head. His lips seized hers in a kiss, but this was nothing like the one she had coaxed out of him. This kiss was hungry, demanding, and wild. It was as if he released all of his bottled up emotions in this one kiss. She responded just as heatedly. They devoured each other through the kiss. Her hands tore open his kimono and glided over his heated skin, touching him wherever she could.

Sesshomaru moaned deep in his throat. Kissing Ayame brought him back to life. He didn't care if she was marked by Naraku. It didn't matter if that youkai's scent was everywhere. He will erase all of that and place his brand on her. Even without the mating mark, she belonged to him, body and soul. He stripped her of her clothes. Yet, even in all of their haste, he was careful as he lowered her on the ground and followed her down. She was weak, but he wasn't going to control his instincts that demanded him to mate.

Ayame loved the feel of his hard body pressed against her. Heat exploded and desire pooled in her womb. She wanted him like never before, with a desperation and despair she'd never felt before. As his mouth trailed down and caught a taut nipple in his mouth, her breath caught on a gasp. She arched into his mouth, urging him with little whimpers and gasps of pleasure.

The little noises she made only sharpened Sesshomaru's need. It took all of his effort to not just mount her now and gratify himself. Yet, he held on and slowly kissed his way down her body, paying reverence to every part of her and finding all the secret places that that brought her pleasure.

By this time, Ayame was nothing but a set of nerves that responded instinctually to Sesshomaru's ministrations. As he stopped, his head between her thighs, his mouth hovering over her most sensitive spot, she waited, her body stretched taut to the point of breaking. When he flicked his tongue over her tight nub, she shuddered. He suckled, ruthless in his quest to drive her mindless.

Ayame cried out, her climax washing over her. Yet, he didn't stop. Mercilessly, he kept going, driving her higher and higher toward another peak. Just as Ayame thought she almost reached it, he stopped.

"Sessho…" Her word stopped on a gasp as his body loomed over hers and he drove inside of her in one thrust.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes in bliss. He was finally inside her. Her soft sheath wrapped around him tightly. He pulled back and thrust back in. Ayame writhed beneath him in mindless pleasure. He let go of whatever discipline he had left. He rode her like a man possessed. Their bodies moved together in perfect synchronization. Her hips met his thrust for thrust. Theirs was a mating as old as the planet itself.

As her body started to shudder around him, her hands clutching at him for anchor, Sesshomaru seized her mouth in her fiery kiss just as she screamed with another organism. He drew all of her into him. Pleasure coursed through him as her body squeezed him in tremors.

Sesshomaru roared with triumph his climax raked through him. His body lurched in violent spasms of pleasure that went on and on until he thought it would never stop. He collapsed on top of her, his energy spent. He'd never felt so satisfied, so fulfilled in his life, not even in the times when they made love before.

Maybe it was because he was finally ready to admit the feeling he'd denied himself for so long.

He looked at her, lying beneath him, her chest rising and falling steadily with her heavy breathing. Her eyes, a soft hazel, gazed at him almost questioningly. Her golden hair fell in soft waves around her face. He couldn't resist but plant another kiss on her lips.

"I love you," he whispered. A weight lifted off his chest as he finally spoke those words. He watched in consternation as tears glittered in Ayame's eyes.

Ayame couldn't help it. The tears came out by themselves, but she was happy. If she had the strength, she wanted to shout out to the entire world that Sesshomaru loved her. He actually said those three words that meant the world to her.

"Please don't cry." He wiped away the tears. Ayame wanted to laugh at how worried he looked.

When the tears just kept coming, she wiped them away impatiently. She didn't want to cry. She wanted to enjoy this moment, so she pulled him down for a kiss.

"Say it again," she demanded.

"I love you, Ayame, no matter what happens," he vowed.

She smiled through the tears. "I love you, Sesshomaru."

Beneath the stars that sparkled, the two lovers shared another soul searing kiss and spent the rest of the night in bliss.

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"No!" Sesshomaru glowered at her suggestion the next morning.

"Why not? We have to find the rest of the Shikon."

"We will have nothing to do with the Shikon anymore. I won't risk having Naraku control you again."

"Sesshomaru," Ayame said his name with exasperation. "It's not just about the Shikon anymore. We have to kill Naraku. As long as he's alive, this mark will exist."

Even after last night, when they'd spent the entire time in each other's arms, the mark, now taking the shape of a black crescent moon, served as an unwanted reminder of just what Naraku had done. No matter how many times she makes love with Sesshomaru, Naraku's scent would still be part of her, because his poison flowed through her veins.

Ayame could read the turmoil in Sesshomaru's eyes. He was scared for her, for what could happen if she fell within Naraku's grasp once again. "Please. I have to do this."

He sighed, giving in. "Do you know where the rest of the shards are?"

Ayame thought about it and answered, "Naraku only had five with him, so that leaves us only four to find. When he marked me," She ignored Sesshomaru's growl. "I saw the location of three of them before he could stop me. A wolf demon named Kouga has two of them. Another one of them is at a place where the two worlds meet."

"Let's go then.

"Wait! Should we take Rin and Jaken?" she asked. Those two were still asleep since it was still early morning.

"Yes. Wake them."

Ayame didn't bother pointing out that she wasn't a servant and shouldn't be ordered like one. However, since she was still deliriously happy after last night, she'll let this one slide. She woke up Rin and Jaken, who both grumbled at being disturbed, although Rin was a lot less grouchy than the tiny toad.

None of them had any idea where the demon Kouga was, so Ayame decided the best thing was to find Kagome and the gang. Sesshomaru didn't see why, but she insisted until he couldn't ignore her anymore. Sesshomaru had no trouble finding his annoying brother. Once they almost reached Inuyasha and the rest, they left Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un at some place safe.

Sesshomaru and Ayame found Inuyasha and company not far away from where Naraku's castle, where Naraku had last escaped. Apparently, they were trying to track Naraku without much success. Not to mention, Ayame didn't sense any shards nearby either. She wondered why Kagome didn't notice, or if she did, why they were still searching here.

"Who's there?" Kagome asked with alarm just as they came upon the gang. She had sensed the large piece of Shikon that Sesshomaru carried. Behind her, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo looked up one after another.

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing here?" Inuyasha drew out Tetsusaiga in offense.

"We're not here to fight. We're here for the shards," Ayame said and glared at Inuyasha. She was glad that Sesshomaru didn't rise to the bait and draw out Tokijin.

"We don't have any," Kagome said. "Even if we do, we won't give it to you."

"I know you don't have any, but do you know who Kouga is?"

Kagome hesitated for a very brief second before asking, "Why would we do?"

However, at the same time, Inuyasha growled, "What do you want with the wimpy wolf?"

Ayame's lips curved into an amused smile as she watched Kagome and the others hitting Inuyasha for his stupidity. "He has two shards," she told them, though she was certain they already knew that. When no one said anything, she spoke again, "There're only nine shards left. Naraku has only five shards. Other than the two that Kouga has, one is at where the two worlds meet, but I do not know where the last one is."

"Why are you telling us this?" Sango asked.

"We want the same thing, don't we?"

"The last shard, it is the one on Kohaku," Miroku mused.

"Kohaku?" Ayame had never heard of that name before, but from the look on the gang's faces, she knew that Kohaku must be someone important. Then, as quickly as possible, Kagome explained what had happened with Kohaku. After hearing the tale, she felt a deep sympathy for Sango. It must be hard to have one's brother as an enemy but not being able to save him no matter what.

"Someone is coming," Sesshomaru, who had stayed quiet this entire time, said.

Just then, Ayame felt the presence of some Shikon shards moving toward them at an incredible speed.

"It's Kouga," Kagome muttered, sounding very displeased.

"Don't think about helping him. I will take these shards from him," Ayame warned her. She now understood why Kouga, instead of Kagome, still possess those shards. Somehow, Kagome had become friends with the wolf demon. However, that changed nothing for Ayame.

She will have those shards.

Ayame watched in amazement as a tornado made its way toward the group. Despite knowing that it was Kouga, she still gasped as the tornado suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a handsome male in a black ponytail dressed in light brown furs. She continued to watch with amusement as Kouga took Kagome's hands in his and asked in a tender voice, "How are you, Kagome? I'm sorry for not being here for such a long time."

She wanted to laugh at the look on Inuyasha's face. The words "Get your hands off my woman" might as well have been written on his face, but Kouga completely ignored the silver-haired hanyou.

"So you're Kouga," Ayame said in her best no-nonsense voice since she felt like laughing so much.

Kouga looked at her and Sesshomaru without letting go of Kagome's hands. "Who are you?" he asked. Then to Sesshomaru, he remarked, "You smell like the mutt."

A low growl came from Sesshomaru, but luckily for Kouga Sesshomaru didn't kill him right there. Instead, he asked her, "Where're the shards?"

"They're on his legs, around his ankles," she replied even though she tried not to look at them directly. As usual, the unpurified shards sent waves of pain through her.

Kouga, hearing her answer, straightened immediately and let go of Kagome. "You can see them?" He sniffed the air and he suddenly turned murderous as he pointed at her, "You stink of Naraku."

Unconsciously, Ayame's raised her hand to cover up the mating mark. "He poisoned me. I need the shards to lure him out." _And turn into a demon,_ she added silently.

"He'll come after me without you taking the shards."

Ayame smiled coldly. "It doesn't matter. I want the shards. Unlike Kagome, I don't know you and I don't want the shards to fall into Naraku's hands."

If she was right, Naraku would have eight shards if he took those two from Kouga and took out the one in that boy Kohaku. Though he might not want to kill her because of the child she was carrying, she couldn't take that chance.

Kouga smirked and moved into a fighting stance. "If you want it, you'll have to come and get it."

Sesshomaru drew out Tokijin in a flash. However, Ayame placed a restraining hand on his wrist and shook her head. "I'll fight him."

"Ayame…"

She met his eyes directly. "Please, Sesshomaru."

"All right, but if he hurt you in any way, he's dead."

"Hey, that's not really fair," Kouga protested and was ignored.

"Kagome, may I?" Ayame gestured to the bow and arrows the girl was carrying. Reluctantly, Kagome handed them over. Ayame took them and then strolled up to Sango. "Let me borrow this too. Thanks." She pulled a dagger from Sango's waistband and strapped it on hers. Finally, she faced Kouga. "Come on. I'm ready."

Adrenaline pumped through her at the prospect of the fight. She thought quickly about how to get around Kouga's speed. Just as she expected, Kouga moved around her in a circle and turned into a small tornado swiftly just like earlier. Ayame utilized every one of her senses just in case he decided to attack. However, it seemed like he was waiting for her to attack as he did nothing but circling her.

She decided to oblige and sent an arrow flying. It didn't even come close to the tornado and landed on a tree. Instantly, the tornado headed toward her. Ayame leaped and was stunned at how high she was up in the air. _Guess the baby gave me more power than I thought._

She strapped another arrow in lightning speed and calculated just how fast Kouga was moving. She wasn't aiming at him, but at the place where he would be after the arrow hits. However, since he was advancing toward her, she had to dodge and had no time to take aim.

_Shit! This isn't going to work._

Ayame was already sweating and exhausted after a short time. She had also wasted most of her arrows. Despite the child's powers, she was still human and did not have Kouga's stamina. Also, she was disadvantaged since the beginning. She had never recovered her strength after Naraku had kidnapped her. Yet, luckily, ever since the fight started, Kouga never made any move to harm her. He was waiting for her to tire out and quit. _Maybe he's afraid of being killed by Sesshomaru,_ Ayame thought wryly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ayame saw Sesshomaru making a move toward her. She shook her head at him. She was getting the shards by herself, no matter what. She couldn't rely on Sesshomaru all the time.

Giving up on shooting Kouga, she grabbed the dagger she had borrowed from Sango and jumped into the tornado the first chance she had. She caught a glimpse of Kouga, but she was out of the tornado almost the next second. However, that gave her a position as to where he was within the wind. She finally had an idea on where to aim her arrows.

Getting ready for Kouga's next advance, she held tight onto the bow while holding the dagger in her other hand. She had figured out a pattern to his movements. It was hard at first since he had seemed to always move in a straight line, but he slanted a bit to the right and then to the left occasionally.

Ayame waited for her chance. When it came, she threw the dagger into the tornado, where Kouga was. Right after, she sent an arrow zipping through it filled with her power. The tornado disappeared.

Without hesitation, she let fly another one at his ankle and smiled with triumph when she caught the glint of the shard glittering under the sun. Yet, the crippling pain wrecked her body. She had forgotten about that. _Shit_, she thought as she tumbled toward the ground.

"You're good," she heard Kouga say as he stood up and caught the shard in his hand.

Sesshomaru caught her before she hit the ground. Using him as an anchor, she gathered up enough power and shot another arrow at Kouga's hand. Surprised, he dropped the shard. It was just what she needed. The arrow zipped by the shard and purified it with her power. Now she didn't have any problems looking at it.

"Take it," she said to Sesshomaru, since she was still somewhat dizzy. She didn't have any more strength to go get the shard in mid-air.

Sesshomaru grabbed it while carrying her with one arm.

Ayame prepared herself to continue the fight to get the second shard. However, a spasm of pain shot through her body, starting with her stomach and spreading to everywhere else. Something moved within her. She suddenly knew that she had disturbed the fetus by moving around too much. The baby wanted to rest, but she still had one more shard.

"Don't push yourself," Sesshomaru whispered tenderly.

She sighed. _I really can't do anything by myself_. "I can't even if I want to."

The corner of his mouth quirked. "I'll get the shard," he said quietly and placed her on the ground gently.

Ayame didn't object. She was really tired and just wanted to sleep. She didn't watch the fight, but she heard the sound and knew when it was over. She knew Sesshomaru probably hurt Kouga somewhat from the distressing noises that Kagome made and the way Inuyasha snickered.

"That was quick." She tried to smile as she purified the shard. "I'm sorry. I'm so useless." She was holding onto her consciousness by thin threads. She didn't want to succumb to the darkness.

"Do not be ridiculous. You're carrying a child. It will pass after you give birth," Sesshomaru said and lifted her.

"I wonder if that's true…" She still fought against the need to close her eyes.

"Rest, Ayame," he ordered, as if knowing what she was doing.

"But I…" She didn't know how to explain it. In the end, she asked fearfully, "You won't leave, will you?"

He looked down at her. "I won't leave you. It's a promise."

Reassured by his words, she closed her eyes. Before going away to the darkness that no longer looked that frightening, she whispered, "I love you."

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**A/N: I have some other bad news. I'll be in China for the next month until June 17****th****, so I can't promise further updates until I get back!! It all depends. But at least I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger right? ^.^**

**As always, please REVIEW!!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Wow, updates in one week. You must think it's a miracle. Actually, I finished this chapter in one day. Why? Because I will be out of the country until June 17****th****, so I figured I should leave you guys with something before I go ^.^**

**Enjoy!!!**

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**Chapter Fifteen**

"A place where the two worlds meet…" Ayame mused. "Where could that be?"

She and Sesshomaru were heading to nowhere in particular, since they had no idea where the next shard was. A month had passed since they took the shards from Kouga. Sesshomaru had taken her back to his castle and demanded that she rest. Ayame understood that it was useless arguing with him, so she acquiesced and rested for some time. Yet, a day ago or so she had felt the presence of a Shikon shard, so they had set out from the castle, except that she lost the presence somewhere along the way.

Sesshomaru looked rather thoughtful at her question. "It might mean the boundary between this world and the next."

Ayame shuddered just thinking about it. This world and the next? If that was true, how were they supposed to get there?

Suddenly, she stopped moving as she felt the presence of the shard again somewhere in front of them. It was weak, but probably because it was only one shard. At the same time, her neck throbbed painfully at where Naraku had bitten her. The pain grew gradually until it brought her to her knees. She could literally feel Naraku's poison flowing through her body, infecting her blood and taking it over.

Sesshomaru was there holding her, his fingers running over the mark gently. He wished he could take the pain away. "Where is he?" he asked quietly.

Ayame shook her head, which took most of her strength. "I don't know. He must have recovered to be able to do this, but he's still not strong enough yet, or I wouldn't still be here." She smiled softly and gasped as another spasm of pain shot through her body. "He's planning on getting to the border between the two worlds, using… using a youkai called Tekkei. He's… he's already failed when… using the Fire Realm."

Suddenly, the mark stopped burning and everything was back to normal. Ayame couldn't remember speaking, but she knew something had happened when she was in pain. "What… what did I do?"

"You were connected to Naraku and speaking of what Naraku is doing."

Vaguely, she recollected the things she said and wondered who or what Tekkei was. "Where should we go? Find Tekkei or go to the Fire Ream?" She managed to stand up with Sesshomaru's help.

"To the Fire Realm," Sesshomaru stated confidently.

_Why do I get the feeling that he's not telling me something?_ Ayame thought with a frown, but she followed him nonetheless.

Later that night, Ayame felt the baby move within her again as she lay in Sesshomaru's arms. She had started feeling it often ever since she started showing a few weeks ago. It had scared her at first, to feel such a tiny life within her, but as she watched Rin's fascination with the baby, she cheered up somewhat. The little girl was just so innocent and adorable. She wished the same for her baby. She wished that he would have a carefree childhood without being affected by the ugliness of the world.

"What are you thinking?" Sesshomaru asked and made her jump. His brow lifted. She couldn't tell if it was amusement or what.

"I didn't know you were awake."

"I sleep light."

Ayame couldn't resist the urge to run her fingers through his silver hair. Suddenly, it felt so long since he'd made love to her, since he'd touched her other than when he was holding her.

"What is bothering you?" he asked and buried his face in her hair and took in her scent. She felt him stiffen and instantly knew that he'd smelled Naraku on her. She tried to move away from him, but he only held her tighter.

"I was thinking if I'll ever get out of Naraku's grip. What if I die, Sesshomaru? What if the baby dies?" She looked at him with desperation.

"You won't. I won't let anything harm you or my child," he said with finality.

Ayame had no doubt that he meant it, but she had to ask, "Even if he is a hanyou?"

"Yes, even if he is a hanyou."

She searched his face for anything that would give him away, but he was serious.

"What about me? What if I stay human forever?" She was more afraid of the answer than she let out. In fact, she regretted asking the question. She didn't wish to know the answer.

As if sensing her discomfort, Sesshomaru tightened his arms around her. His answer was simple. "No matter what, I'll love you forever."

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The Fire Realm was a barren land with deep craters on the ground everywhere. The heat was unbearable, and there were no living things as far as the eye could see.

_I wonder why,_ Ayame thought with sarcasm.

Sesshomaru seemed to know where he was going since he looked as confident as ever. Then again, he would never show any hesitation or confusion even if he felt that way. Thus, it was no wonder she highly doubted him since she didn't think that he had ever traveled to the border between this life and the afterlife before.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru stopped on the edge of a crater. Ayame looked down curiously and saw that this one was like a tunnel leading down somewhere instead of just smoke coming up from underground like all the other craters. Beside her, Jaken looked as if he was about to have a seizure standing in the heat. She knew that he would've stopped Sesshomaru from going down if he could.

_At least Rin's not here._ They had left Rin with Ah-Un at the border of the Fire Realm for her sake, because all of them knew that they could not take Rin to wherever they were going.

"Come." Sesshomaru took her hand in his and led her down the tunnel.

As they headed down deeper underground, the light from above completely disappeared. Yet, she could still see and knew that it was because of the child she carried within her. Being hanyou, she could utilize its powers while it grew inside of her.

It felt like an eternity of time had passed before they finally stopped in front of a huge iron doorway. There were remains of youkais on the ground everywhere and she wondered why. Beside the iron door, there were two gigantic statues, which she thought was pretty impressive, though she doubt that they had any other use except for decoration.

"Do you want to pass?" Both Ayame and Jaken jumped at the voice and glanced around nervously. "Or do you not want to pass?"

Ayame clutched tighter to Sesshomaru unconsciously. Sesshomaru didn't move or speak and just stared at the door with a contemplative expression.

"Of course we want to pass, or why would we be here?" Jaken answered loudly, trying to sound as powerful as a tiny youkai like him could.

Instantly, the entire place shook as the statues moved. Ayame could only stare at them in awe as Sesshomaru drew out Tokijin and Jaken hid behind his master.

"Only the dead may pass this gate. Those who wish to pass shall die at our hands." The sound echoed through the cave.

Now she understood why Naraku had failed at the Fire Realm, since he obviously wasn't dead and didn't want to die anytime soon either.

"Hmm… Interesting," Sesshomaru said just as the two guardians attacked.

Ayame grabbed Jaken and jumped out of the way of the attack as Sesshomaru leaped high and slashed at the statues. They fell just as Sesshomaru landed, but got up in less than a minute.

"It is no use. A word of this world cannot harm us."

The guardians prepared to attack again. She felt rather than saw Tenseiga vibrate. She bet that Sesshomaru felt the same thing because he stuck Tokijin in the ground and drew Tenseiga out of its sheath. The sword glowed blue as the gate behind Sesshomaru opened. To Ayame's amazement, instead of attacking, the guardians bowed down to Sesshomaru.

"Pass," the voice said.

"Pass, he who possesses a sword of the afterlife."

_Wow, that was easy._

Ayame knew that Tenseiga could revive any dead being, but she had never thought that it would be useful at this place. Sesshomaru sheathed Tenseiga and picked up Tokijin again. He headed to the gate without a backward glance. Still carrying Jaken, she ran after him.

"Wait! You cannot pass through the gate." One of the guardians lowered his weapon down in front of her.

She glared at him even though he probably wouldn't understand. "Watch me!" She ducked under the huge weapon and followed Sesshomaru through the gate.

So this is the place where the two worlds meet, Ayame thought as she emerged on the other side of the gate. The place was covered in mists so that she could barely see a yard ahead of her. She could occasionally catch the rocks jutting out from the ground and the skeletal birds flying around as Sesshomaru carried her and floated to some place on his pelt. She didn't dare asking where they were headed since Sesshomaru had a really grim look on his face, but she couldn't help but speculate.

Abruptly, they stopped and Sesshomaru looked up. She followed his gaze and gasped as she saw the remains of the giant youkai. The skull was shaped like an animal's; its teeth were sharp with fangs protruding from the side, except one of them was cut off. She could still see that armor it was wearing, although she couldn't see the bottom because it was covered by mists.

"What is it?" Ayame asked. She felt both fear and respect for the dead youkai.

"He is my father."

She didn't know why she was shocked by the respect in Sesshomaru's voice. Maybe because he always seemed to be so arrogant and on top of the world, it was hard to think that he could respect anyone.

She gulped as she remembered that time when Sesshomaru had turned into his true form. "When you die, will you look the same?"

Sesshomaru's lips curve. "I do not know, but I have no plan of dying anytime soon."

Ayame smiled. "Good. Because I don't want you to die either."

"I am glad we agree."

His soft smile literally melted her heart. He started moving up and put her and Jaken down on even ground, which was the shoulder of the youkai. Ayame suddenly realized that Jaken had been unusually quiet. One glance at his face and she could see he respected Sesshomaru's father as well. Looking at the skeletal head beside her, she didn't fear it as much as when she first saw it.

_I wish I had known him_, she thought with a wistful smile, but it disappeared as soon as she sensed Naraku's and the Shikon's presence. _Why didn't I sense it before?_

The single shard she sensed was not tainted, but it was somewhere below her and was attacked to the skeleton. Naraku was getting closer.

"Ahhh!!" she screamed when the excruciating pain started to spread from her mating mark outward.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken shouted as she collapsed.

Sesshomaru's hand covered her glowing mark as another source of power starting flowing into her body. She realized it was Sesshomaru's. However, Naraku's poison in your body increased and she literally felt the baby moving in protest.

"No, stop!" She pushed away from Sesshomaru, knowing that if he fought for her the baby would die from the increased poison in her bloodstream. Sesshomaru seemed to understand her thoughts and stopped. By that time, her consciousness was slipping away from her. She tried to fight it, but nothing she did could change anything. Yet, she didn't want Naraku to control her again. She didn't want to hurt Sesshomaru again.

As Sesshomaru held her, she touched his cheek tenderly and breathed in his scent to gain comfort and strength for what she was going to do.

"Promise me you'll kill him this time, OK? I think I have a way to stop him from controlling me."

"What are you doing?" he asked as she closed her eyes.

"I will send my soul out of my body. He cannot control a body without a soul. I will come back when all of this is over," Ayame explained. When Sesshomaru started to protest, she placed her hand over his mouth gently. "It is the only way." She leaned up and kissed him lightly.

"Kill him," she whispered before closing her eyes. She allowed the darkness to take control of her, but instead of falling under Naraku's control, she sent her soul out of her body while praying that she could return safely.

_Hmm, so this is what it feels like to be dead. _The only difference was that she felt extremely light once devoid of her physical body. She floated up beside Sesshomaru and felt awful for putting that painstaking look on his face, but there was no other way. This was a lot better than shooting at Sesshomaru under Naraku's control.

She stopped for a moment to take a careful look at herself. She looked different somehow. She was definitely skinnier even though she was having a baby. Her face was also paler than before. _That's definitely not a good sign._ Before she could continue studying herself, Sesshomaru moved right through her. It felt kind of ticklish for him to pass through her.

"Sesshomaru!" She followed the voice to see Inuyasha and the gang below her in the mist, except there were diamond spears attacking them.

_Where'd that come from?_ Leaving Sesshomaru's side, Ayame moved down toward the source of the spears. She caught sight of a skull resting in the middle of the diamond shards before the skull turned to fire at her.

_What the…?_ She dodged on pure instinct, even though the skull shouldn't be able to see her. However, that didn't seem the case as the diamond spears followed her movements. She wondered if they could really hurt her, but then again, she wasn't about to risk it.

"The shard! It's there inside him!" Kagome shouted, but Ayame was already heading that way. She was not about to give the shard to anyone else, especially one that was uncorrupted.

"Who are you?" Miroku asked the skull as movements on both sides ceased.

"I am Housenki."

Ayame tuned out the rest of the conversation as she concentrated on getting the shard. First of all, she hoped that she could pass through the diamond armor surrounding it. However, could she actually carry the shard in this state? Wouldn't it be kind of strange if everyone just saw a shard floating out of Housenki's body by itself?

The conversation suddenly stopped and Housenki's mouth turned upward, to the shock of everyone except for her. He started firing diamond spears into what looked like thin air, except she was right the target.

"Damn it! How can you see me?" Ayame shot out of the way and shouted at the skull.

"You're a ghost, dead, and I am the same," Housenki replied.

"Who's he talking to?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm not dead, you stupid skull!" she screamed at him as another set of spears shot toward her.

This time, several of them hit her. Before she could scream out, Jaken shouted in what sounded like terror, "Sesshomaru-sama! The human's bleeding!"

Sesshomaru left Inuyasha behind and leaped up. Her condition was probably really bad, because then Sesshomaru spoke into thin air, "Onna, wherever you are, quit being stupid and find a safe place. I do not want you to bleed to death."

Everyone else had a puzzled look on their face, but knowing Sesshomaru, he would nto explain to them.

Sighing, Ayame floated over to Sesshomaru and brushed a tender hand down his cheek. Even though he couldn't see or hear her, she still kissed him softly and said, "All right. If you say so."

The next moment, she swore he saw her because he looked right at her and whispered, "Be safe."

"I will."

Ayame moved away from him and sat dejectedly on the shoulder of Sesshomaru's father. Instead of moping about her uselessly, she tried to find Naraku, but since she was only a ghost, a wondering soul, she had no power within her at all.

"What is a wondering soul doing in the border?" Someone suddenly said behind her.

Ayame whirled around only to see two ghosts like herself, except they carried weapons, well, chains, with them as they studied her. They were both male and looked somewhat identical.

"I… I'm…" she didn't know what to say as she thought about where they came from and what they were doing here.

"Come. You cannot stay here," one of them said and motioned to the other side, away from where the fighting was taking place.

"Where?"

"We are messengers of the afterlife. We take wondering souls to the Underworld."

Ayame smiled nervously. "You got it all wrong. I'm not dead. I just sent my soul out of my body to escape being controlled by someone else." As she spoke, she moved away from them little by little.

However, at the exact same time, with their moves exactly the same, they threw the chain they were carrying at her. Before she knew what was happening, the chains were wrapped around her arms and legs. The two ghosts then started dragging her off.

_Uh-oh, this is not good._

With everything she had, Ayame struggled, but the chains only became tighter the more she fought. However, she felt no pain, no whatsoever, but she was certain her real physical body was suffering.

"I'm telling you! I'm not dead!" she screamed at them as she continued to struggle.

However, the two guardians acted as if they didn't hear her as they continued to pull her after them.

"Sesshomaru!" she shrieked as loud as she could, but it was useless. There was no way that he could save her. He couldn't even see her.

Ayame couldn't believe her luck. She finally found a way to escape from Naraku's control, but instead of peace, what did she get? She gets captured by two ghosts who were set on taking you to the Underworld, where she definitely didn't belong and didn't want to go.

"Let me go! Damn it! I'm not dead! Why won't you listen to me?" she struggled and cussed to no avail. They didn't even spare her a glance.

"We're here." The two ghosts finally stopped in front of a door of some sort, but their chains didn't let go of her.

"Who goes there?" Two guardians very much like the ones in the Fire Realm materialized out of nowhere from the mist and stopped the two who were holding her.

"It is Akusa and Gokin. We've brought a soul," the male to the right answered.

One of the guards nodded and the gate opened slowly.

Ayame made another attempt to back away as she saw the black and red world in front of her. Souls were trying to come out, but were blocked by a barrier of some sort. All of them looked the same, faceless, crying to be released from their prison.

"Let me go! I'm not dead!" She fought and fought, but her two captors still moved forward effortlessly.

Terror rose up like a giant wave trying to drown her out as she came closer and closer and was finally inside the gate.

"No! I'm not dead!" Her last desperate scream was drowned out by the deafening sound of the gate closing behind her with finality, leaving her in the middle of the sea of souls.

She was trapped.

_Oh now what am I going to do?_

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**A/N: Anyway, see ya in a month!!!**

**Don't forget to REVIEW!!!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update this time, but as you know, I was out of the country for the last month and only recently returned. Then it took me some time to finish editing this chapter, but here it is!! Enjoy!!!**

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**Chapter Sixteen**

As Sesshomaru faced Naraku, he hoped that nothing happened to Ayame. The bastard hanyou had not only hurt the woman that he loved, but had also come to destroy his father's grave. With barely restrained anger, he attacked Naraku over and over again, but nothing could hurt the black-haired demon since even his attacks could not penetrate Naraku's barrier.

"Do you wish to strike me that badly, Sesshomaru?" Naraku taunted.

Sesshomaru growled dangerously and warned off Inuyasha when he was about to jump in the middle.

"If you wish." Naraku chuckled. His hand changed shape and three vines shot out of the barrier coming at Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru cut through the vines easily and ruthlessly. However, as soon as the vines were cut, streams of shouki spilled out and covered everything. The shouki was harmless to Sesshomaru, but it would melt the grave of his father. Luckily, the girl called Kagome purified it so before it reached the gigantic skeleton.

"Kongsosoha!" Inuyasha suddenly yelled from behind him.

Sesshomaru leaped out of the way just in time as thousands of diamond spears flew past him and pierced through Naraku's barrier. Sesshomaru took this chance to take the tainted shard from Naraku's hands. Immediately, he felt the taint of the shard spreading through his body, trying to take control of him and reacting to the larger jewel shard he already carried. With some focus, he repressed the taint of the shard to just a small part of him.

_It'll take more than that to control me._

He put the shard with the other one he had just in time to see Kagome shoot a purifying arrow at Naraku. It broke through Naraku's feeble new barrier and struck the hateful hanyou. However, Naraku was not dead. Instead, the pieces that remained of his body formed into a ball of light and quickly flew away until it disappeared into the mists. Sesshomaru was just about to follow it when he remembered Ayame. He couldn't just leave her here. Besides, he heard the sound of the diamond spears heading straight toward him. With a graceful jump, he moved out of the way and glared at Inuyasha.

"Sesshomaru! Give us the shard!" Inuyasha shouted.

Sesshomaru ignored him and went to pick up Ayame.

"Sesshomaru!"

"Come and get it, hanyou," he said with contempt even as he cradled Ayame in his arms. Somehow, if he wasn't mistaken, she had more wounds than the last time. There were chain marks on her arms and legs. "Wake up, Ayame. Naraku is gone for now," he whispered as his hand traced her face lovingly.

However, there was no response from the unconscious girl. Inuyasha and the humans arrived next to him just then.

Kagome gasped. "Sesshomaru! What did you do to her?"

"I do not have to explain it to you," Sesshomaru replied coldly, his perfect voice unaffected by any emotions despite the panic that was swelling within him. Why was Ayame not responding?

"She's bleeding! But how? We did not even see her," Sango muttered thoughtfully.

"She must be the one whom Housenki was talking to. We did not see her because she was a ghost, but Housenki did because he was also a ghost," Miroku deducted.

"But she's not dead." Inuyasha eyed Ayame suspiciously, especially at the rise and fall of her chest.

"What did she do? If she's not dead, then why was Housenki able to see her when we couldn't?"

"Stop bothering Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken shouted beside Sesshomaru. "The woman sent her soul out of her body so that Naraku could not control her."

"Jaken!" Sesshomaru reprimanded the toad coldly, but his heart was not in it. Instead, his eyes searched the area around him while he appeared calm on the outside. He knew he could not see Ayame since she was a ghost, but where was she? What had she gotten herself into this time?

"Ahh!!! I'm sorry, Sesshomaru-sama!" The toad immediately bowed in fear.

"How could she send her soul out of her body?" Kagome wondered out loud.

"It is none of your concern." Sesshomaru was finally tired of Inuyasha and the humans' speculations. "Jaken, come, we are leaving."

While speculating why Ayama's soul hadn't returned to her body, Sesshomaru stood up with Ayame's body in his arms ready to leave. If Ayame was close, she would see him and return. It didn't matter if he left this realm, because souls could cross the three realms easily, unless… the thought made him stop.

"Sesshomaru, you're thinking she's captured," the monk stated calmly.

"Captured?"

"Yes. It doesn't matter in which realm, but a wondering soul is not safe by itself. The Underworld has messengers everywhere to take dead souls to the Underworld. Normally, the souls themselves could cross between the realms easily, but if they were trapped in the Underworld, they would not be able to get out again."

"But her body is not dead," Kagome pointed out.

"The body will die in time." There was genuine sadness in the monk's voice as he spoke.

Sesshomaru felt something foreign as the monk explained. It took him a moment to realize that it was sadness. If what the monk said was true, then that meant he had lost Ayame. The rage that took over the sadness was dangerously violent, more than anything he'd ever felt before, but it was anger at himself for not being able to protect her. The anger mixed with the taint of the Shikon formed a lethal combination that fought to control his sanity. It took all of his focus to not lose himself in those dangerous feelings.

As he pushed back the rage, the sorrow came back, threatening to drown him. For the first time in his life, he regretted his actions. He shouldn't have forced her to stay in his world. He should've sent her back in the beginning. If he had done that, she'd never be in this danger. He would never have truly loved someone. Worst of all, he was scared, scared of an eternity of loneliness without Ayame and the son that had just began his life.

"Sesshomaru, what're you going to do with Ayame?" Kagome asked.

"It is none of your concern." Truthfully, Sesshomaru had no idea. He had planned on returning to his castle with Ayame, but now he had no idea what to do. There must be something he could do to bring Ayame back.

"Sesshomaru-sama, there might be a way for Ayame-sama to return to us."

Sesshomaru recognized the voice that came from Inuyasha's shoulder. His gaze focused on the little mosquito. "What is it?" he asked.

"We cannot help her in this. It will all depend on herself."

"Myouga-jichan, get to the point," Kagome said with frustration.

"If all of you remember, Souunga is sealed in the afterlife. If I am not mistaken, Souunga will pick out Ayame-sama from the rest of the souls because she doesn't really belong there. If Ayame-sama is able to break the seal on Souunga, then Souunga can open the gate from the afterlife into this world and release her."

"Along with thousands of others," Inuyasha added.

Sesshomaru could see that none of them liked the idea of setting free Souunga, but if that was the only way to free Ayame, he didn't give a damn about any others. However, he could no nothing to help her. It all depended on fate whether Ayame shall find the sword of calamity and free it from its seal. After everything that had happened, he hoped that fate would not fail him.

* * *

Ayame leaped away when one of the souls tried to grab her and pull her into the sea of souls surrounding her little road. She had never felt so scared before. She wished that someone, anyone, could help her, and she'd be grateful for life.

_There must be some way for me to leave this place. _

She'd already pounded on the gate countless times, but it wouldn't budge.

_Somebody please help me!_ she screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the screams of the souls around her. She couldn't feel the tears, but knew they were coming down, probably in the other world where her body was.

_What would happen to my body? What would happen to my baby? _

Ayame didn't want to think about it as she continued to walk the endless road paved in the middle of the souls. Amazingly, none of them were able to stop or touch her, even when they seemed close to grabbing her. It seemed none of them could get to her for some reason, which she was grateful for. She was not ready to lose herself among the souls around her.

Time was lost to her as she walked in the afterlife, never tiring, never feeling anything as a spirit. After a while, she even started wishing that she was one of those faceless spirits around her, but other times she yearned to see Sesshomaru, to go back to the world of the living.

Something was wrong. Were all the souls supposed to be left alone in this place? When was she supposed to fall into the sea of souls? How come she hadn't seen anyone else like her? She was also the only one that was not black and red in this world, so what was going on?

After what seemed like an eternity, the road ended as a clearing opened up before her, if one could call it that. It was only a round patch of land with other roads detaching from it. In the middle of the clearing was a shrine. As Ayame approached it, she saw that there was a sword lying in the middle of the shrine. It clearly vibrated as she came closer and closer.

"Who are you?" Ayame jumped a feet tall when a deep voice came from the sword. The voices of the souls suddenly disappeared and there was only silence around her.

_What's going on?_

"I could ask you the same question," Ayame replied rather hostilely and heard the voice laugh, which reminded her of the evil laughter she'd heard on TV.

"Why are you here? You do not feel like one of the dead."

Even the thought of this made her angry, so she retorted without thinking, "That's because I'm not dead. They dragged me in here without listening to my explanation."

"Oh really? Do you wish to leave?"

Ayame felt a flutter of hope within her. "Can you do that?"

"Yes. If you release me from my seal, then I will be able to open the gate of the afterlife and allow you to leave."

"You can open the gate? But how? What are you?" Ayame was both awed and suspicious of the sword. There must be a good reason the sword was sealed in the Underworld, but even knowing the danger, she couldn't resist the temptation offered by the sword. She'd give anything to be able to leave this place and return to Sesshomaru.

"I am Souunga. In the world of men, only the power of two swords combined could seal me."

Ayame didn't fail to detect the bitterness in the voice. "Why are you sealed here? What will happen if I release you? Besides, how do you even know that I could release you?"

"I was going to destroy the world of men, but Sesshomaru and Inuyasha sealed me using the sword made from their father's fang. If you release me, I'll be forever in your debt." Ayame gasped and swore the sword would've smiled if it could. "You were a miko, were you not? Even in death, your spirit should have enough power to destroy this seal."

There was something definitely wrong with this. "Why are you being so honest?"

The voice laughed. "There is nothing wrong with being honest, is there?"

"No, there isn't."

Ayame was still suspicious. Souunga was hiding something from her, but what? Yet, there was no way she could find out unless she released the sword. She only hoped that she was not making the wrong decision, but if Sesshomaru and Inuyasha sealed the sword once, they could seal it again, although she wasn't sure how they could work together without killing one another.

"How do I break the seal?" she asked after making her decision.

"Just take the hilt and pull me away from the shrine."

Ayame nodded and prepared herself, especially for whatever Souunga was planning. _OK, here goes nothing._

As she grabbed the hilt, red lights shot out of the shrine and surrounded her. She closed her eyes against the blinding light and pulled with all she had. Shots of electricity ran through her arm. The pain she felt was as real as if she was in her physical body, instead of being a ghost. The shrine crumbled as Souunga moved.

"Just a bit more," Souunga encouraged. He almost sounded as if he cared.

With all of her strength, Ayame pulled once more and stumbled back when the shrine exploded.

Souunga was free.

* * *

It had almost been a month since Sesshomaru returned to his castle with Ayame's body from the Fire Realm. There were no changes in Ayame's demeanor. Her body continued on living without the soul. At first, she simply looked like she was sleeping, but not peacefully. Occasionally, her expression would change, sometimes there was pain, other times sadness.

However, ever since a week ago, her pulse had started to become weaker. Her complexion was getting paler day by day. Sesshomaru was at a loss of what to do. He only wished that Ayame would free Souunga and come back to him. He didn't care of Souunga could destroy the world. As long as Ayame was with him, nothing mattered.

Then, one day, his wish came true. He was in the library when he heard her scream. He sprinted to her room like a bullet, scaring several of his servants on the way. What he saw made his heart drop, but at the same time pump with excitement.

Ayame was still in bed unconscious, but there was a familiar red light concealing her. She was clutching her right arm, which seemed to be holding something. She had finally found Souunga and was trying to free it.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what is happening?" Rin rushed in and asked with fearful wide eyes.

The red light slowly disappeared, but Ayame's hand was turning into a red and bruised color as if something was squeezing the life out of it. Sesshomaru had no doubt that Souunga was trying to take control of Ayame like it did Inuyasha. His heartbeat picked up with worry. If Inuyasha could not shake off Souunga, then Ayame had no hope of not being possessed.

When Sesshomaru didn't answer her question, Rin rushed to the side of the bed. "Sesshomaru-sama, what is happening to Ayame-sama?"

"Rin, return to your room."

Sesshomaru had yet to tell the little girl what had happened. He saw no point in telling Rin something she would not understand.

"But…"

"Go!"

The little girl literally jumped at the order. She sniffed back tears and with a quick nod left the room.

The redness on Ayame's arm disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, which left Sesshomaru puzzled, but before he could take the time to figure out what had happened, the ground shook beneath his feet and he smelled the stench of the dead. Instantly, he realized that Souunga must have opened the gate of the Underworld. Elated beyond belief, he carried Ayame's body out of the castle without further ado and headed for the opening. Along with the smell of the dead, he also sensed Inuyasha and the humans heading for the same direction.

_What are they doing?_ However, he dismissed the question without further thought because it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Ayame would return to him.

When he arrived, the ground was split open beneath him and the sky had turned black like the last time when Souunga had opened the gate of the Underworld. The gate was already closing, but Souunga was floating above the ground. When the instant that Souunga realized that Sesshomaru was close, it shot toward him with lightning speed, but before Sesshomaru could move, someone else interfered.

* * *

The light suddenly disappeared, along with the blinding pain, but something was creeping up her arm. Ayame looked down and saw red vine-like things coming from Souunga and wrapping itself around her arm.

The voice laughed. "Free! Free at last!"

What the hell?

Ayame tried her hardest to shake off the sword, but with no success.

"Don't struggle, human! I'll release you from this world and make you the ruler of all three realms!"

This time, even though she was a ghost, Ayame felt Souunga's power spreading through her body, trying to take control. She was suddenly angry, furious in fact.

"God damn it! I'm sick and tired of all of you trying to control me! Get a fucking life!!!" Ayame yelled. She found that space deep inside of herself where her power resided and purified the vines off of her body with a blinding flash.

"How? A mere human!"

Shocked to his core, Souunga tried to release the vines to control her again, but they always touched a barrier and were purified.

Ayame grabbed the stupid sword by the hilt and jerked it so that she was face-to-face with it. "Now you listen, Souunga! I've had enough of people trying to control me! You'd better back off! Either you get me out of this place peacefully, or I could seal you back there and find another way!"

She had no idea if she could reseal Souunga, or if she had another way out of the Underworld, she doubt it, but Souunga didn't know that. Fortunately, Souunga believed her bluff, because it agreed to freeing her.

"Now do it!"

The ancient sword didn't make another sound, but suddenly, the ground beneath her trembled and she heard what might be called "glee" from the souls trapped in this world.

"Don't you allow anyone else get out!" she warned Souunga, knowing that the sword wouldn't give up so easily. It must have something else up its sleeve.

However, all of that was forgotten as the sky of the Underworld shifted until she could see the blue sky above. Along with Souunga, she floated up, out of the Underworld and to the World of Men.

Ayame laughed with delight. She couldn't help it. She's back! Her eyes automatically searched the area around her and locked on the one figure she'd missed more than anything else in the world.

Sesshomaru.

He was here, waiting for her. It didn't matter that maybe he couldn't see her. Deep in her heart, she knew he was here for her.

Ayame moved toward him. She wanted to shout, to scream with happiness, but no sound came out and she found tears blinding her vision. However, before she could reach him, Souunga streaked past her toward Sesshomaru.

No! The word never made it out of her lips when a chain wrapped itself around Souunga. When Ayame saw who it was, she was shocked to her core. "Shin?"

"Do you know the human?" Souunga asked.

"Yes. Don't hurt him. I'm going back to my body."

Ayame didn't give anyone else a second look and slipped back into her body. She couldn't possibly tell what it felt to be back in her own body, though she had a little problem opening her eyes and moving, since she'd been away so long.

Yet, the first thing she saw was Sesshomaru's golden eyes, ones that had drawn her to him at the very beginning, along with other things. When she saw the relief on his face, she smiled with all the love she could muster. "I'm back."

Ayame jumped out of his arms and landed on her feet, though she fell almost as quickly when her stomach rebelled. "Wow, it's so big now." She touched her stomach and felt the baby moving under her fingers.

Sesshomaru could only stare, paralyzed, as her eyes opened and her lips curved into that familiar smile that he loved so much. Then, he did the only thing he could think of and pulled her tight against him, thanking the heavens that she was back. He couldn't imagine living a life without having her next to him.

Ayame couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her throat. "I'm back! I'm really back!" she shouted, elated, and laughed even as tears of joy ran down her face. Her lips found Sesshomaru's and kissed him long and hard.

"I'm back!"

* * *

**A/N: Please REVIEW!!!!**

**till next time!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Watch out!"

Ayame's happiness was cut short when Inuyasha shouted the warning just as Sesshomaru grabbed her and leaped out of the way. She heard the sound the same time she moved. When she looked back again, a giant crater had appeared at the place where they were a second ago.

As she glanced around to see what had happened, she found Souunga attached to Shin's arm as Shin tried to fight it.

"Shin!" she shouted, worried.

He looked up from his struggle and recognized her in an instant, but even as he opened his mouth, he couldn't say anything.

"We have to help him!"

Without waiting for a reply, Ayame left Sesshomaru and rushed toward Kagome, though it felt somewhat odd moving in her real body considering she hadn't had a body for such a long time and she had gained weight due to the baby. It was probably not healthy for her to move around so much in this condition, but she couldn't just let Souunga take control of Shin.

"Kagome, let me borrow this."

Panting, she took the bow and arrow from Kagome and strung one without thinking. It had become a habit of sort, so every movement was made without excess thoughts.

"Souunga!" she called to get the sword's attention as she let go of the purifying arrow.

Even as Shin fought against it, his arm moved upward in the form of an attack.

"Gokuryuuha!"

Souunga's attack was strong, but it didn't stop the advance of her arrow. It was probably because he had attached himself to a human, who could not realize the full power of the demonic sword. Not to mention Shin was still fighting it with all he had. Thus, the arrow struck Souunga and destroyed his hold on Shin.

"Shin, get away from that thing!" Ayame yelled and started to run toward him to get Souunga, but Sesshomaru stopped her by appearing in front of her, blocking her way.

"Stay here," he told her calmly.

So saying, he moved so fast that within the blink of an eye he was in front of Souunga and taking hold of the sword.

No! The word stuck in her throat as she watched Souunga attacking itself to Sesshomaru. It tried to take control of Sesshomaru, but for a while it didn't seem to work as Sesshomaru just stood there as calm as ever. She prayed that it wouldn't work. Sesshomaru must be strong enough to use that sword without getting possessed!

However, suddenly, the wind picked up around Sesshomaru. His eyes flashed red and he started changing into his real form.

"Sesshomaru!"

"No! Stay here!"

Shin grasped her hand when she started heading toward Sesshomaru.

"But I…"

She didn't want to stay here. She had to help Sesshomaru. Yet, as she looked from Shin to Sesshomaru, she didn't know what she should do. What could she really do to stop Sesshomaru if Souunga really possessed him? However, it was already too late. The win had picked up to the point that it could literally lift her in the air like a tornado.

When it reached where she stood with the others, Miroku set up a barrier. Yet, even with the barrier, they weren't safe. Sesshomaru was way more powerful and it would be a piece of cake for him to break the barrier. Yet, the worst thing was that she couldn't see him anywhere. The place where he stood was completely blocked by the gusts of wind around him.

_God, please let him be all right! Please don't let Souunga win!_

She didn't know how long she waited for the winds to die out, but when it finally did, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, especially when she saw Sesshomaru standing there as perfectly as before holding Souunga. His arm was free of the parasitic vines coming of off Souunga. It looked like Sesshomaru won after all as he strapped the sword along with the other two.

However, Sesshomaru looked tired as he turned to face here. This was the first time she'd seen that look on his face. He was weary. There was no doubt as to what put that look on his face. Fighting with Souunga really took a lot out of him. At the same time, she wondered what made that sword so powerful that it took Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga to defeat it, not even defeating it, but merely seal it in the Underworld.

"Sesshomaru, are you all right?" Ayame asked him when he stopped in front of her.

"Do not worry about me, Ayame."

He kissed her forehead lightly and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Even though he said not to worry, she couldn't help it. It wasn't every day he looked this way. The only other times when she'd seen him like this were the two times that he had been hurt by Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga, but she knew by now that it was useless to question him further when he refused to admit to anything. Instead, she focused on the tainted shard he carried and purified it, but was rather embarrassed when she felt Sesshomaru tense at her touch. Not far from them, Inuyasha snickered.

"What?"

Ayame glared at him but couldn't hold back the blush that stained her cheeks. Trust Inuyasha to use his nose at the most inappropriate moment.

"Let's go."

Sesshomaru suddenly lifted her from the ground without preamble. However, Shin, holding a katana in his hand, blocked their way.

"What do you want, human? I spared you once. I will not do so again."

Ayame looked away from the hatred from Shin's eyes and forced the memory out of her mind. It had seemed so long ago since she had freed Shin and Kahu from Sesshomaru's castle, but it was only about a year. And where was Kahu?

_A year, I'm really stuck here forever, aren't I?_ She hadn't expected to feel homesick, but she suddenly found herself want to be back to the familiarity of the city, if only to see it once again before the portal closed. And it would close eventually, after the Shikon was made whole again and destroyed. But she was jolted out of her thoughts by Shin's shouting.

"I'm here to fight you, youkai! I will make you pay for killing everyone in my village and Priest Yasun!"

Sesshomaru made the move to put her down, but Ayame placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "Please do it later, Sesshomaru. I'm tired," she whispered, putting as much exhaustion into her voice as possible. While she was overdoing it, she really was exhausted. The baby was giving her trouble by moving and kicking around a lot.

"Come to my castle tomorrow, human," Sesshomaru told Shin simply and left without waiting for an answer.

* * *

The next morning, Ayame woke up in Sesshomaru's bed. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but obviously she had somewhere along the way. The morning light slanted into the room from the windows on each side of the bed while the birds sang outside. Sesshomaru slept peacefully beside her, looking magical with the small amount of light accentuating his handsome features.

Ayame's lips curved into a soft smile as she ran her hand through his gorgeous hair. This time, he didn't grab her hand and almost break it into pieces. Instead, his beautiful eyes opened little by little and finally focused on her face. She moved forward, hoping to kiss him, but stopped when her stomach suddenly lurched in pain.

"Onna, what is the matter?"

As he asked the question, he spread his hand open over her womb and immediately warmth spread throughout her body.

"How do you do that?" she whispered, as if afraid to break the magic surrounding her.

"Do what?" he asked with confusion written over his face.

"Never mind," Ayame said with a sigh and scooted closer to him. This time, the baby didn't object. Lying in his arms, it occurred to her that she had maybe one or two months left before she would give birth, but since she was carrying a hanyou, perhaps it would arrive earlier than the usual human baby. She really had no idea but figured that she would take things as they come and no worry about it so much. While she was afraid, she was also happy to have Sesshomaru's baby. She only prayed that it would not be harmed and that they would kill Naraku before she gave birth, but at the rate things were going, it didn't seem likely.

She was lying happily in the border between sleep and waking with Sesshomaru's arm around her, that when somebody knocked on the door, she was pretty sure she was dreaming, until the warmth that Sesshomaru brought left her and brought her back to reality. When her eyes had focused on the creature that stood by the door, Sesshomaru had already gotten dressed and was heading out.

"Where are you going?"

Ayame wanted to be able to move faster so she could follow him, but she couldn't really complain about the baby slowing her down. However, when Sesshomaru disappeared without giving her an answer, she ordered Jaken to stay behind.

"I do not take orders from anyone but Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken retorted snottily.

"You will do what I say!" she shouted as her hands fisted. "Or I'm going to tell Sesshomaru that you mistreated me again!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Ayame suppressed the laugh that tried to bubble out as she watched Jaken shaking with anger. "Try me! Do you think he'll believe me or you?"

She didn't want to look down on him, both literally and figuratively, but she couldn't help it. She had never liked Jaken that much since he was always so snobbish around her and treated her with disrespect most of the time. Even if he was a demon, she was pretty sure she could easily beat up someone like him.

"So what did you tell him?"

Jaken sighed, which was a first, but he answered, "A human called Shin is here to challenge Sesshomaru sama. If you ask me, he—"

"Good!" Ayame cut him off in the middle of his rant about how great Sesshomaru was. "That wasn't so hard, was it? You can leave now."

Jaken stomped out on his short legs and slammed the door behind him. Ayame didn't bother to reprimand him. She only wanted to know what had happened to make Sesshomaru leave and wasn't really interested in beating Jaken into a pulp. Thus, she went to the closet and took out a yukata that was doubtlessly made for her as it fitted her perfect and headed out to observe the fight.

She hurried down the stairs as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast considering the state of her pregnancy. When she finally got outside, the fight had already begun. She wasn't at all worried about Sesshomaru since she was confident that he would win, but she really didn't want Sesshomaru to kill Shin.

Shin was doing the best he could, using spells to stop Sesshomaru from getting too close while a barrier surrounded him at all times. He seemed to be a lot stronger than when he had taught her. The fight would've probably lasted longer if things had continued to go this way, but she gasped when Sesshomaru drew out Souunga. Up until now, he hadn't used a weapon at all, but even if he did, she didn't think he'd use such a powerful sword against a human, but since Sesshomaru looked pretty irritated, it was understandable.

"Gokuryuuha!"

When Sesshomaru launched the attack, Ayame could literally feel Souunga's glee in killing.

_I have to help him. A barrier wouldn't hold against such a strong attack. _

Ayame wasn't sure how she did it, but she was suddenly able to sense the energy around her, especially the two waves of energy disturbing the rest. One was filled with vengeance, and the other with anger and the killing high. She could see the waves as if they were real and tangible. Feeling the power flowing through herself, she watched a wave of power leaving her body and merge with Shin's barrier as Sesshomaru's attack hit.

At the same time, she was transported to a burning village with a giant dog youkai looming over it. Screens of terror filled the dark night. The smell of death and blood permeated the air. As if trapped in a child's mind, she was both terrified and confused as to what was happening. It was a nightmare, one she couldn't wake up from.

Then everything was suddenly gone and back to normal again. Sesshomaru still held Souunga while Shin lie on the ground with blood dripping down on the ground from his wounds, but he didn't look angry anymore, only awestruck.

"You helped him," Sesshomaru said, appearing next to her. He was furious. The energy emanated off of him and hit her like a wave. While she didn't want to argue with him since she wanted to think about what had just happened and how, she could tell that she couldn't avoid it.

"Yes, I helped him. You could've killed him if I didn't," she replied with a hint of challenge in her voice. She refused to be scared of him, even though nothing good ever came out of it when they argued.

"Come to my room. We have to talk."

Ayame resisted closing her eyes at the inevitability of the argument. However, she didn't follow him immediately just to spite him. As much as she loved him, she hated that arrogant and commanding tone of his. He could use it on anyone except for her, so instead of obeying him, she headed over to Shin and asked, "Can you get up? I would help you, but I can't really bend down or anything."

Shin eyed her suspiciously, but stood up as she asked.

"I'll help you into the castle."

"I don't want to go there. I'd better leave," Shin said with disgust.

"You can't possibly go anywhere with those wounds." Now that Ayame was closer, she saw that he was wounded at plenty of places. Even if Sesshomaru didn't kill him, he could bleed to death if the bleedings weren't stopped.

"I can go anywhere I want to!"

Her eyes narrowed as her temper flared. This suddenly reminded her of the many arguments the two of them shared when she had trained at the temple. "You're coming with me! Where is Kahu? If you die, who is going to take care of him?"

Shin winced and she knew she'd won. "He's safe," he grumbled.

"Yes! Right now he may be! But what about later? Is he going to stay at that place forever?"

Shin sighed, finally giving in. Then, with some hassle, she managed to help him get to the old room she had occupied before she moved to Sesshomaru's room. It was still clean even though no one had used it.

"I'm going to get some things, so just stay here and don't go anywhere," she ordered and left the room to go to the infirmary. To her relief, there was no one there, so she found bandages and herbs used for healing. Then she returned to find Shin exactly where she'd left him.

"Are you sure it's all right for me to be here?" Shin asked her when she started to clean his wounds.

"Why shouldn't it be? Sesshomaru can be pissed off for all I care, but he's not evil. He wouldn't have hunted you down anymore if you didn't come back."

Shin hissed in pain when she dabbed some mixed herbs on a particularly nasty cut. "He destroyed everything. I'm going to destroy him even if it cost me my life."

"And then what? You'll die for revenge. Where does that leave you? I'm sure your parents wouldn't want their son to die for some worthless cause."

"It's not worthless."

"Sure it is," she said and rolled her eyes. "First, you can't possibly defeat Sesshomaru. Even if you do, as you said, you'll probably die from it. What's the point? Revenge only leads to more revenge. It's a never-ending cycle. You've got a whole life ahead of you, so do some productive with yourself. Don't waste it on revenge."

Now, Shin was studying her carefully as if he didn't recognize her at all. Then, he asked in a more subdued tone, "You've got a whole life ahead of you too. Why are you wasting it on a demon?"

Ayame hadn't expected the question and she stopped moving for a second before continuing to wrap his wounds. Then she looked him in the eye and answered, "Because I love him. He's not perfect, and I might be wasting my life, but I love him. It's enough of a reason for me to be with him, don't you think? Besides,"—she placed a hand over her belly—"I'm having his child. We'll be a family."

Shin didn't look too comforted by her answer. "But you're going against him by helping me."

She smirked. "Just because I decided to spend my life with him and bear him children doesn't mean I'm his servant. I'm still human. I'll always be the same, and I can't let him kill you no matter how much he wishes otherwise."

Ayame tied the last know just a bit too hard at the thought since it made her angry and felt guilty when Shin winced. While she washed the towels, Shin yawned and looked even more tired than before, so she said, "You can sleep if you want. No one'll disturb you here. Just lock the door."

Shin looked to the outside longingly, but he said, "Perhaps I will, but don't come looking for me if you can't find me later."

Ayame knew he meant to leave, but didn't bother to convince him to stay. "Fine, just make sure you don't overexert yourself."

When he said nothing further, she left and closed the door behind her. After returning everything to the infirmary, she headed upstairs.

_Time to face Sesshomaru. _

She really was not looking forward to it.

However, it seemed like God had something else planned for her before facing Sesshomaru, as she heard cries coming from a door to her right on the second floor. It was not a youkai, since she hadn't sensed any particularly youki belonging to anyone in the castle, but why would another human be here other than Rin and herself?

Curious, she turned the knob and found that it was locked, which only made her more curious.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" The sobbing stopped instantly and silence followed. "Can you open the door? I don't hurt you."

"I can't," whoever it was at the other side answered in a soft whisper. It sounded like a child. "The demon lord locked it."

"Why are you here?" Ayame asked. What was another human girl doing here locked up?

"We live in the village not far from here under the rule of the demon lord. My mother is the medicine woman and the midwife. When the demon lord sent servants to ask my mother to come to the castle since his mistress is pregnant, my mother refused. He came and kidnapped me and other kids as hostages so that my mother would come."

Ayame wasn't sure if she should be happy upon hearing this. While Sesshomaru was as high-handed as ever, at least he cared enough to find a midwife for her.

"Where are the others? And your mother?"

"The others are in the dungeon, along with mother. I was sick, so I couldn't stay down in the dungeon. The lord took me up here and locked me in."

From what this girl was saying, she wondered why others believed that Sesshomaru hated humans. If he was able to take care of this girl and not let her die, then how could he be heartless? He might be careless toward humans, even cold-hearted, but he did not hate them.

"Don't cry. I'll make sure that everyone else is OK."

"Who are you?" The girl asked just as Ayame was about to leave. Thinking back to what the girl had just said, her lips curved and she answered, "I'm his mistress."

The girl made no sound at that. Shaking her head, she turned around and headed toward the dungeon where the humans were locked. The torches were lighted down at the dungeon, so it wasn't as dark as she thought it would be. There were sounds coming from the second door to her right. Luckily, there were no guards around since the humans couldn't possibly escape.

She took the keys that were hanging off the wall. They jingled loudly, signaling her presence to those who are imprisoned. Almost instantly, the entire place had gone quiet. It took her a minute to find the right key for the room. Once she opened the door, the older boys moved in front of the younger kids as if to protect them. In total, there were about 8 of them, ranging from girls around 5 to teenage boys. None of them looked harmed, which she was grateful for. She couldn't imagine these little kids getting hurt just because she needed a midwife.

When Ayame saw the midwife, she instantly recognized her. From the look on the older woman's face, she had not forgotten either.

"Aiko-sama," Ayame whispered. Oh, she should've known. There, sitting in the back calmly, was the same medicine woman she had visited upon first suspecting about her pregnancy.

"Who are you?" the oldest boy, who looked no more than 15, asked her belligerently. He hadn't heard her whisper Aiko-sama's name.

"I'm sorry. I just heard about you being trapped here. As to your question, I'm Ayame, Sesshomaru's lady."

Upon hearing this, everyone gawked at her except for Aiko.

"But… but you're human," a young girl muttered seconds later.

Ayame smiled kindly. "Yes, I am. Is there something wrong with that?"

They all shook their heads fiercely the way kids do. "We just thought that the scary lord would take an evil mate."

"I wouldn't call myself evil. Actually, I'm a priestess."

"A priestess? What is a priestess carrying a demon's child?" Aiko finally spoke, her voice full of disapproval and nothing of the warmth she'd shown the last time they had met.

"Why can't a priestess carry a demon's child?" she bit back. She had liked the woman the last time they had met, but now she wasn't so sure.

Aiko merely sighed as if giving up. "I see you didn't change your mind."

"No I didn't." As Ayame surveyed the deplorable conditions around her, she said, "Now it's time to get you out of here."

The kids' eyes widened in disbelief. "Can you do that? But the demon lord will kill us if he finds out."

"No he won't. Everything will be on me."

It wasn't a good idea to anger Sesshomaru when he was already furious at her, but she couldn't just let them stay here and starve or get sick. After some debate, they decided to trust you, so she let them out of the dungeon and onto the first floor.

"Where are you going?"

They had almost made it to the front door when Sesshomaru appeared on the stairs. When he saw what she had done, his eyes flashed red one second and he growled. The kids moved back in unison with fear.

"Sesshomaru, I'm letting them go. You shouldn't have taken all of them hostage."

"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do," Sesshomaru warned.

"I'll stay. Let the kids go," Aiko said, surprising everyone.

"But Aiko-sama…" The youngest girl tugged on the hem of the older woman's kimono.

"I'll stay. Let my daughter and the others go," Aiko repeated.

"You heard her, Sesshomaru. Let everyone else go," Ayame backed up Aiko.

"Ayame, we need to talk. Everyone can leave except for the human midwife," Sesshomaru said with his usual commanding attitude and then went back up the stairs before anyone else could say anything.

"OK. All of you can leave now. Be careful on the way back," Ayame told the kids with a soft smile and then said to Aiko, "I'll let your daughter out soon, but I need to speak with Sesshomaru. You can stay here. If the servants ask you anything, just say Sesshomaru told you to stay here."

After seeing the kids out, she headed to Sesshomaru's room once again. She took a deep breath outside the door. _OK. Here goes nothing._

Inside, it was already dark. The clouds had rolled in, blocking the sunlight. It looked like it was going to rain really soon. _Come to think of it. I'd never seen rain or snow here. How odd. _

Sesshomaru stood against the window, looking out, but she was certain that he was aware of her presence.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ayame asked even though she knew perfectly what.

"You have learned to disobey me, Ayame." Sesshomaru turned around to face her.

She rolled her eyes. "When have I ever obeyed you? Besides, you can't call that disobedience. You didn't give me orders not to save Shin; you didn't tell me about the kids and Aiko, so I released them. I did not disobey your orders, because there were no orders."

"Even if I did not order you, you know well my intentions. You knowingly acted against my wishes."

"Fine! Even if that were true, I can't just let you kill Shin, or imprison the innocent. In the future, where I come from, you can't just kill anyone as you please. Also, women are not slaves. I don't have to do whatever you want if I don't agree with you."

Sesshomaru was suddenly in front of her and stared down at her. His face was harsh, and if she didn't know anything better, she'd think that he would kill her with a swipe of his hand. "This is not the future, onna," he whispered warningly.

"But I came from the future. I can't change, Sesshomaru. This is who I am. I don't take orders, much less when there was none. If you want to treat me like a servant who has no brain and obeys every one of your orders, then find yourself another woman."

Ayame was growing angrier by the second. If he wanted to be such a stubborn mule about it, then she could be the same. "You're just angry at me because Shin used to like me!" she continued, without giving Sesshomaru a chance to speak. She was so furious by then that she missed the change in Sesshomaru's expression.

"Why are you so jealous? It's not like I'm going to run off with him. I love you! When can you understand that? I gave up my whole life, everything I know, everyone I love, to be here with you, and you're mad because I didn't do exactly as you wished! I'm not a fucking servant! If you can't treat me as an equal, then forget it! Forget everything that ever happened between us—!"

She finally stopped screaming when Sesshomaru slapped her across her face. Stunned, she touched her burning cheek gingerly and finally felt the tears that had started flowing down her face when she was shouting at him.

"You said enough, Ayame. Do not make it worse," he said in a restrained voice. He hadn't planned it to turn out this way. He had simply wanted her to not go against his wishes in the future. He hadn't meant to hit her, but his hand just moved by itself when he couldn't take it anymore.

Even after such a long time, he didn't know enough about her. She had come from a different world, and they had different teachings for women. However, every one of her words had sliced through him like a knife. He was jealous just like she said, but he couldn't change that about himself either. It was the way he had grown up to me. She was his mate, and he didn't like seeing her care about other men.

"Make it worse? How could it be worse? How could anything be worse?"

Ayame suddenly felt very homesick. She missed Rick. He'd never hit her. He treated her as an equal. He respected her the same way he respected others. He had trusted her like no one hand, and yet… yet she'd betrayed him with this… this demon that would hit her whenever she disagreed with him? A demon that knew nothing of love, understood nothing?

"I hate you. You ruined my life! You ruined everything."

Thunder flashed outside, lighting the room for a split second, enough for Sesshomaru to see the hatred glinting in her bright eyes. It was just like the last time she had said it, except it hurt so much more this time. As she whirled around to run, to get away from him, from this world, he couldn't decide whether to stop her or let her go like he should've done a long time ago, before he had fallen so deeply in love with her.

However, it was as if fate meant for her to stay as she suddenly fell, hands holding her stomach. Sesshomaru was beside her instantly as she gasped. Her face was twisted with pain and large drops of perspiration trickled down her face.

"Onna, what's the matter?"

"The baby… the baby's coming…"

Sesshomaru's heart jumped. It couldn't be. He picked her up as gently as possible and laid her on the bed. The sheets beneath her were stained red almost instantly. He was out of the room in the next second to find that the human doctor was still waiting outside.

"Come up. She's having the baby." Even in haste, he managed to keep his voice leveled and not show the panic he was feeling.

Upon hearing this, the old woman got a determined look on her face. Her aging body moved up the stairs faster than Sesshomaru would've thought possible. She was ordering a list of items to be brought to her even as she moved.

"Yes. I'll get you the items. Just deliver the baby," Sesshomaru said and found the closest servant to bring the items. Before he returned to Ayame, her screams could already be heard everywhere in the castle. When he returned to the room, his nostrils filled with the scent of blood, which was not unfamiliar considering the number of deaths and warfare he had seen over his lifetime, but this scent raised the hair on the back of his neck, as if warning him not to get too close.

But he ignored the warning. Ayame needed him. He couldn't let her do this alone, even if she did just threaten to leave him. So he stayed beside her while the human doctor barked out orders and encouragements. For the first time in his life he felt powerless. He could do nothing to help her except for just holding her hand while wishing to channel his own strength to her, so that she would survive.

After what seemed like an eternity, the baby's first wail finally penetrated the night, but not before Ayame's screams and the scent of her blood imprinted itself upon Sesshomaru's body and soul.

He will never get rid of this nightmare. It will haunt him forever.

* * *

**A/N: Kind of a long wait, huh? but it's finally here!!! Hopefully enough things happened to make the wait worthwhile!!! **

**Please REVIEW!!!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey, sorry for the long wait!!! I was going to update last week, but somehow I forgot. And for the last two days I couldn't upload files, but here it is finally!!!!**

**Big thanks to everyone that reviewed!!!!  
**

**Chapter Eighteen**

When Ayame opened her eyes again, it was light outside. She felt exhausted and had no strength to move at all. With great effort, she managed to turn her head to the sound that was coming from her left. Blinking her eyes rapidly to clear her vision from the light that flooded the room, it took her a second to recognize the woman.

"Aiko-sama…" she whispered. Her fingers moved uselessly as she tried to lift her hand.

Aiko turned and greeted her with a warm smile. "You're awake."

"What happened?" she asked weakly. Memories returned by bits and pieces as she recalled the fight. And then… then there was unbearable pain as her body started splitting apart… Quickly, she shied away from it and turned her attention back to Aiko.

"You lost a bit too much blood during the birth, but with plenty of rest, you'll be fine."

"What about my baby?" It seemed too good to be true that she survived, so she expected the worst from the older woman.

Aiko's smile widened. "He is perfect. He's a bit on the small side, but like his mother, he's a fighter."

Ayame released the breath she'd been holding and managed a wan smile. "Thank you. Can I see him?"

"Yes. You stay here and don't try to move. I will go bring him and Sesshomaru-sama."

Aiko soon disappeared from her sight. Ayame waited impatiently and sighed with relief when she heard the door open again after what seemed like forever. Soon, Sesshomaru came into view with a small bundle in his arms. He placed the bundle down beside her gently and sat down on the chair beside the bed. She smiled at him, but his expression was enigmatic. She didn't want to think about their strained relationship, so she turned to her son.

The first thing she noticed was that he was so tiny just lying there sleeping. He has only a small amount of hair, but it was silver tinged with some brown, her natural hair color. He had Sesshomaru's ears and the crescent moon on his forehead, but he didn't have the magenta stripes on his cheeks. Although unable to see his eyes, she wished they were a beautiful golden like his father's.

Feeling someone squeezing her hand, she looked up and met Sesshomaru's eyes. She had the strange feeling that he was beside here the entire time during the birth. There were lines of strain around his eyes that she hadn't noticed before.

"He's beautiful," he said, his voice full of an emotion she didn't recognized, but she couldn't agree more with his statement.

"Have you named him?"

"No. I want you to name him."

She thought about it for barely a second and said with a grin, "Kichiro. His name will be Kichiro."

"Lucky son," he whispered the meaning of the name, turning it over in his head. Their gazes locked as he said pensively, "Yes. That will be his name."

*****

It took Ayame two weeks to be able to stand on her own two feet, and another two weeks to have enough strength to leave the confines of her room. After a month and a half, she was able to make it outside by herself without collapsing from fatigue. Aiko stayed by her side the entire time, slowing aiding in her recovery. She was eternally grateful. Without the older woman, she didn't know what she would've done, since Sesshomaru had barely shown his face around her.

In a month, she'd probably seen him two times, and that was from the window of her room watching him leaving the estate. If it wasn't for Aiko telling her that Sesshomaru came to check on her every day after she had already went to bed, she would've thought she didn't exist to him at all.

_He must still be angry about what happened,_ Ayame thought as Aiko helped her sit up to feed Kichiro.

"Do you know where Sesshomaru is?" she asked Aiko. She had held back the question for a long time, but today for some reason she was feeling extremely restless. After having almost lost her life giving birth, she wanted to apologize to him and make up for everything. She wanted things to go back to the way it was between them before the fight.

"I do not know. He leaves at dawn and comes back late at night, but no one knows where he goes every day except for Jaken," Aiko replied.

_Guess I'll just have to threaten it out of Jaken later._ She sighed inwardly. It wasn't something she looked forward to, considering she had no strength to be as intimidating as she needed to in order to extract information from that old toad.

"Aiko-sama, I never thanked you for saving my life and that of my son's," she suddenly said as it just occurred to her. She couldn't believe she'd never thought of it before. What was wrong with her?

Aiko smiled kindly, looking motherly like always. "I was just doing my job."

"But you were forced to, and I haven't even released your daughter yet." The thought only made her feel guiltier.

"Don't worry. Sesshomaru-sama released her after you gave birth."

"Oh, thank goodness."

A moment of silence passed before Ayame remembered something else. "Aiko, how did you know?" When the older woman looked at her with puzzlement, she asked again, "How did you know that I would have trouble giving birth? It's not like it happens every day, you know, a human giving birth to a hanyou."

There was another moment of silence as Aiko contemplated on her answer. When she spoke, she looked ten years older and weighed down with sadness. "Years ago, my sister saved a youkai, Sai. They fell in love and married, though it was against everything we believed in. They lived in the mountains, where no one could find them. However, I visited them regularly, especially after she got pregnant."

She paused. Ayame could see from her expressions that things didn't end well. Taking a deep breath, Aiko spoke again, "We thought everything would be great, since she showed no signs of discomfort during the pregnancy, but the day she gave birth, it was horrible. There was so much blood. She suffered so much, just like you, but she didn't survive, neither did the child. Sai left the mountains afterwards. I never heard from him again."

"I'm sorry," Ayame said as she looked down at Kichiro, who was staring up at her with a satisfied smile. His eyes, full of laughter and life, were golden, with some small strands of hazel mixed in the middle. Though she hadn't seen the magenta strips on his face before, they now appeared on his cheeks, but they were small and not as visible as the ones on his father's face. She could tell he was going to grow up into a handsome and great man just like his father.

"You should rest some more, Ayame. If you want to see Sesshomaru-sama, I will ask him to come after he returns with Jaken."

"All right."

She handed Kichiro to Aiko before lying down in bed and planned for what she would do once she got the chance to speak with Sesshomaru. Slowly, she fell asleep with thoughts of the silver-haired TaiYoukai in mind.

* * *

Two nights later, Ayame was still waiting to speak with Sesshomaru, who apparently hadn't returned yet from his latest excursion. She was concerned about his safety, which was really pointless. After all, who could hurt the almighty Sesshomaru? She was much more worried about what this meant for their relationship. If he stayed out this long at a time without coming back to see her, then he must still be angry.

She had just made up her mind that she wasn't going to wait for him anymore, that she was going to search for him, when the painful throbbing began again, starting from her mark. A feeling of dread filled her as she instantly knew what Naraku wanted.

_No! You can't have my son!_

She fought against him with all of her strength, but she simply wasn't strong enough yet after giving birth. Besides, Naraku had no problem killing her since she had outlived her usefulness.

_Bring him to me,_ he whispered inside her head, his cold voice sending a shiver down her spine.

_No!_

She shook her head furiously to fight off the spell Naraku was putting on her through the mating mark.

_Bring the child to me, or I will kill both of you._

_You can't touch us here._

She could see his smirk as he said, _Oh really? Why don't you take another look at your son?_

Ayame's head whipped around and saw a boy holding a knife to Kichiro's small neck. _I will order him to kill the child if you do not come willingly with your son._

She wanted to refuse him, but she could not fight the boy and Naraku's control at the same time.

_Come, or shall I kill the child?_

_You wouldn't. You need him._

Naraku laughed evilly. _Do not fool yourself, wench. Your son is expendable, just like you are._

She gritted her teeth, knowing she had no choice. She went over to Kichiro and picked him up, cradling the sleeping child against her bosom.

_Follow Kohaku. Do not try to escape,_ Naraku warned.

She obeyed him even though she still had control over her body. The boy gestured to the window, but she shook her head. She couldn't jump from that high, at least not now, when she had just barely recovered. Instead, she led the way out of the castle, avoiding all of the servants and into the dark, where she followed Kohaku's lead.

Kohaku led her out toward the west into the forest. They walked on until they reached the river. He waded in and she followed. The river's current was slow as they continued to head downstream, since upstream led to the waterfall in the back garden of the castle. Doubtlessly this was a way to hide her scent. However, they got out when they were almost at the end. She wondered why since that way Sesshomaru would be able to track them again.

By that time, Kichiro had woke up already and was making noises and looked like he was about to cry.

"Can we stop? I have to feed him," Ayame asked the kid and he stopped.

After looking thoughtful for a moment, he nodded in agreement. She walked over to a big tree and sat down against it with a sigh. She was tired after all the distance they had walked. It was the furthest she'd ever gone after giving birth. Fortunately Kichiro had slept almost all the way and hadn't really made any fuss until now.

Facing away from Kohaku, she opened her robe and fed her son. He sucked on her breast greedily. She couldn't help but smile, though she was worried to death about what Naraku would do to him and to her. When Kichiro finished, she wiped his mouth clean gently and closed her robe again. Kichiro, satisfied for the moment, closed his eyes and returned to sleep.

Quickly, making sure that Kohaku wasn't looking, Ayame untied the necklace that Kichiro wore, one that Aiko had given him, and threw it on the ground, hoping that Sesshomaru would find it in case Naraku succeeded at masking their scent.

"He's done. We can go now," she told Kohaku as she stood up.

Again, the boy nodded without saying anything and continued on walking. Soon, they walked through a barrier and she knew Naraku was near. The purple shouki in the air shrouded almost everything from view. They eventually reached the entrance to the castle.

Naraku was standing at the door, waiting for them. He smirked when he saw her and her mark started to throb again. She covered it unconsciously as if to ease the pain.

"Leave us, Kohaku."

"As you wish." Kohaku bowed and disappeared into the purple fog.

"Come in," Naraku said, turned, and went inside. She followed him with trepidation. He led her to a small room with a bed in the middle.

"Leave him here," he ordered, gesturing to Kichiro.

"I'm not leaving him."

She clutched her son tighter to her chest to show that she meant it.

"Do as you wish." Naraku smirked.

She shivered, feeling that there was something more that he wanted, or why else did he not kill her and just order Kohaku to take Kichiro?

This time, he led her to a bigger room, though everything else looked the same. She jumped when the door slammed closed behind her and wondered once again what he wanted.

"You're wondering why I didn't kill you and just get everything over with," he said as he turned to face her.

She said nothing and watched him warily.

"I could have killed you easily, but there was something else I wished to take from you, other than your son." He caressed her cheek slowly as he spoke. She smacked it away and moved back, away from him. His smirk only got bigger, his expression more satisfactory as he continued in a whisper, "Since I've marked you as my mate, don't you think we should do what mates are meant to do?"

Her eyes widened in shock as she finally knew what he wanted. "No! Never! I would rather die!"

In sensing her fear, he moved closer and touched Kichiro's cheeks. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would you?" In saying this, his large hand wrapped around Kichiro's neck threateningly.

"No! Don't touch him!"

"Don't worry. It won't hurt if you don't resist too much." He trapped her against the wall and kissed the mark on her neck. Instantly, pleasure spread throughout her body from that point. "After all, I can make you enjoy it as much as I will."

She fought against him to no avail. Naraku stiffened. Harshly, he snatched Kichiro away from her. Kichiro opened his eyes and started crying at the loss of warmth and comfort. For a moment, she was scared that he would throw the baby down on the floor, but he didn't. Instead, he put Kichiro on the ground not far from the bed. She tried to run to him, but Naraku grabbed her around the waist and jerked her back against him.

"Wench, do not resist me. If you want your son to live, you will obey me!" he growled and bit her neck where the mark was. She screamed as her body convulsed with pain in his arms. When it stopped, she lay limply in his arms with her energy spent, even though she wanted to throw all of her powers at him desperately, just to purify him in one try, but then what if he didn't die? She'd have put Kichiro's life in danger. It was something she'd never risk.

She made no resistance when he threw her on the bed and climbed on top of her. As he undressed her, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. She filled her mind with thoughts of Sesshomaru, which was the only way to protect her sanity and help her live through this nightmare.

* * *

In the morning, Sesshomaru returned to his castle. He had been away tracking down Naraku for the past few weeks, but mostly, he stayed away because he couldn't face Ayame yet. The image of her lying in a pool of blood kept on playing over and over in his mind. She had said that she hated him, which only made everything a lot worse. For the first time in his life, he dreaded seeing someone. He simply did not know how to behave around her anymore.

As he entered the estate from the garden behind the castle, he stopped. Jaken bumped into his leg and quickly scrambled up and away with an apology.

"What is wrong, my lord?" the little toad asked.

He didn't bother with a reply, but something wasn't right; something was missing. Worried, he quickly headed inside, where a frantic Aiko greeted him. Before he could ask, she spoke quickly in panic "Sesshomaru-sama, Ayame and Kichiro are both missing.

_What? _

"I came to check on them earlier, but there was no one there. I've searched everywhere for them," Aiko continued sputtering.

Sesshomaru sniffed. Ayame and Kichiro's scent was still fresh in the air, but there was another. One scent that didn't belong with anyone in the castle, one that he did not recognized. Telling Aiko to stay put, he followed it out of the castle to the west and into the forest. However, it disappeared when he reached the river that ran from the waterfall behind his castle. He followed it downstream, but couldn't find the scent again for a long time.

However, just when he knew the river was about to reach the end, he picked up a faint but familiar scent from the other side of the river. At the same time, he caught something glittering on the ground on the other side as well.

He jumped across the river with a graceful leap and picked up the shiny object, recognizing it instantly as the necklace Aiko had fashioned for Kichiro. Now the scent was back. He followed it at a faster pace. It was an easy trail, almost too easy, as if Naraku was drawing him there on purpose. There was no doubt in his mind that Naraku was up to something, for the hanyou could had easily hidden the scent if he wished, but he didn't, so it could be a trap of some kind.

Sesshomaru didn't care. All that mattered was that he rescue Ayame and Kichiro.

He walked into the barrier at the same time the scent disappeared. Naraku had led him on a fruitless chase, but Ayame and Kichiro had to be in the barrier. Without waiting for another second, he drew out Souunga and used Gokuryuuha. The barrier wavered for a second, but returned to place before he could pass. He was about to try again, but stopped when a gust of wind signaled Kagura's arrival.

"Kaguma," he acknowledged her with a small nod. He did not trust her completely, but she had given him information before that was correct and useful, so this time he wondered what she was up to, showing up in front of him when Naraku was so close.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Naraku is inside there, but there is no point going in. You cannot kill him, as his heart is elsewhere," Kagura said without preliminaries.

Sesshomaru had long before known that the reason Naraku was still alive was because he separated his heart from his body. It seemed Kagura knew as well.

"Where is it?" he asked her while hoping that Ayame was unharmed.

"I am not sure. I know that his heart is inside a child, but Naraku had found something to hide the child's youki, so it will be hard to track him and Kanna, but you can use this." Kagura took out some glittering green crystals and handed them to him. As he took this, she explained, "If the youki on these crystals disappear, then it means you're close. Also, there is a youkai with them that is made from the body parts of others. It is strong, but you should be able to track it easily. Just head west from here, and if you pick up any strong youki, then it might be them. Well, that's all there is. See ya."

Before he could say anything, Kagura took the feather from her hair and flew off. She did not wish for Naraku to detect her presence.

Sesshomaru contemplated what to do. He could wait here and try to break the barrier, or find Naraku's heart and destroy Naraku once and for all. It didn't take him long to make the choice. Praying that Ayame will be safe, he headed west.

After some time, he picked up the youki of a strong youkai just like Kagura said. Though he was not certain it was the one he was looking for, he followed it. By sunset, the youki from the crystals had started to disappear. At the same time, he heard the sound from the sky and looked up to see a dark shadow looming over him, blocking out the light from the moon.

It moved down and struck quickly, but Sesshomaru moved out of the way for a split second and headed in for the kill with Tokijin in hand. He caught sight of it for a split second. It looked like a human, though he had large bat-like wings and was humongous, almost as big as his own dog demon form.

His body was also similar to Naraku's. It was able to change the shape of its hands and other parts to attack without moving from where it was.

Sesshomaru sliced the youkai's arm into pieces, but the pieces came back up and attached themselves onto him and his sword. Gritting his teeth in anger, he allowed his power to leap out of his body and shattered the pieces that clung to him. Before they could attack again, he jumped from tree to tree and searched for Naraku's heart. It had to be somewhere near.

Then he saw them.

The child called Kana held the baby and walked on as if no one dared to come out and touch them. They must be pretty confident, thinking that a patched up youkai could stop him, the Lord of the Western Lands.

With lightning speed, he headed toward them, only to be bounced back by a barrier, which gave the patched up youkai a perfect opportunity to strike. The blade struck his shoulder, but other than a grimace, he paid it no heed. Instead, he stuck Tokijin to the ground and drew out Souunga. Using Gokuryuuha, he destroyed the patched up youkai first, then turned around and struck at Kanna.

The barrier held on for a few seconds before collapsing. With the blink of an eye, Sesshomaru grabbed Kanna and threw her against a tree while his other hand held the baby by the neck.

Finally, he caught Naraku's heart.

* * *

**A/N: Hmmm.... not a very pleasant chapter at all, right? But at least it's almost over. Thank goodness! **

**As always, please REVIEW!!!!  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Ayame woke up groggily. Her entire body ached. The room was dark. She must've slept the day away, which she was grateful for. She wouldn't know what to do if she'd stayed awake after last night. Sesshomaru hadn't come. He probably didn't even know the things that had happened to her. How could she ever face him again?

She curled herself into a ball and winced from the pain. She wanted to cry desperately, but nothing would come out anymore.

Kichiro was sleeping beside her. He'd stopped crying sometime last night, but had woken up when he was hungry sometime during the day. She vaguely remembered getting up to feed him. She had to get him away from here somehow. With that conviction, she got off the bed slowly and dressed.

Holding Kichiro against her chest, she stumbled toward the door, but refused to fall down and give up. All she knew was that she had to get away from here. She turned right once she was in the hallway, vaguely recalling the way to get out.

The castle was dark and eerily devoid of life. She was pretty sure that she was lost when she saw the door leading out. She would've run if she could, but she could barely walk anymore and had to lean against the wall to rest for a minute to regain her breath. There wasn't a part of her that didn't hurt.

_What did he do to me?_

She blinked back the tears and headed forward again. Just as she approached the door, Naraku blocked it. She tried to run, but he had already caught her and hauled her against him. The air slammed out of her lungs as she hit him. Kichiro woke up in an instant and began to cry. The sound was deafening as she collapsed on the ground when Naraku loosened his grip.

"Going somewhere?" He smirked as he pulled her up again to face him.

She said nothing and glared at him with vehemence. His smirk widened. He lowered his head and licked the mark. She no longer had the strength to struggle and just let the pain wash over her. It took all she had left to stay conscious.

Suddenly, he lost his grip and dropped her on the floor. His red eyes glowered at her. "It turns out Sesshomaru wasn't looking for you," he hissed.

She had no idea what to make of that, but nonetheless, it only made her more desperate. Who else would save her and her son if not Sesshomaru?

Naraku's hand slid down to her mark. She had no time to brace herself for the pain.

"Wench, you belong to me, and you'll die with me!"

That was the last thing she heard before blacking out.

* * *

The child looked at Sesshomaru slyly. He held a blue sphere in his hand, which must be the fuyouheki, the sphere that hid the child's youki. Sesshomaru grabbed it and crushed it to a million pieces. Instantly, Naraku's youki radiated off the baby. His hand glowed green as he decided to kill the child and finish everything once and for all. If this child was really Naraku's heart, then once he was dead, Naraku would be gone as well.

"Sesshomaru, I see you've found what you're looking for."

Sesshomaru spun around at Naraku's voice. He growled when he saw Ayame beside the hanyou. His hatred was the perfect mask for the relief that washed over him at the sight of his beloved.

"Let them go," he growled out and squeezed the baby's neck tighter, though he was already scarred from the poison. He only had to use a little bit more force to kill the baby and Naraku. He had the satisfaction of seeing pain flicker across Naraku's face.

"I'm not stopping them. They are the ones who will not leave."

Naraku stepped away from Ayame. When her face lifted, Sesshomaru saw from her unseeing eyes that she was under Naraku's control again. Instead of walking toward him, she went to Naraku. She looked up at the hanyou with love written all over her face, but her eyes held none of the warmth they had when she looked at him with the same expression.

Sesshomaru knew it wasn't her, but he still could not help but feel the pain. He recalled the words she'd said weeks earlier. She hated him, and would hate him even if he freed her and killed Naraku. Yet, he couldn't allow Naraku to control her for the rest of her life.

He made the move to finish off the baby, but Ayame suddenly spoke, "Release that baby and leave, Sesshomaru. I have no more wish to see you. Leave my mate and me alone."

That snapped the last of his control on his temper. Flexing his fingers, he snapped the baby's neck. Naraku roared with agony. However, it wasn't over that easily. While he melted the baby with his poison, Naraku started to twitch and become a bunch of shouki.

_Oh no!_

Dropping the last pieces of Naraku's heart, Sesshomaru sped to Ayame and his son since they would never survive such poison. However, just as he reached Ayame, a hand snaked out from the shroud of shouki and wrapped around her waist. It pulled and she stumbled back. He barely caught Kichiro when Ayame lost her hold on the child, but he could not reach her in time.

However, Ayame's eyes snapped back into focus right before she disappeared into the dark shouki. Doubtlessly Naraku wanted her to suffer, or why else would he release his hold on her?

Sesshomaru destroyed the last pieces of Naraku's heart just as the strong explosion of shouki obliterated everything in the vicinity. It could not have hurt him, but he had to protect his son from it. The blast lasted a few seconds. Once it was over, Naraku was finally gone from this world.

He waited until the shouki dispersed before searching for Ayame. She was lying exactly where Naraku had died. Her clothes were torn and some part of her skin was burnt by the shouki. Her hair, while a mess, was spread under her like a blanket. Her face was an expressionless cold mask. There were other bruises on her body, not just the ones caused by the shouki. For the first time in his life, he felt incompetent. He couldn't protect her, the one being who meant the world to him.

He picked up the Shikon shards that were on the ground and then bent down and touched her face gently, wiping away the dirt. Sadness swelled and filled his heart even though he knew he could bring her back, but she was so still, so cold. He wanted to pick her up and cradle her body against him, but instead, he stood up and drew out Tenseiga.

_Tenseiga, I'm counting on you._

The sword glowed blue. Everything disappeared from his sight except for Ayame and the messengers of the dead that were chaining her, leading her away from this life. He wiped them out with one slash.

Cradling her head against his shoulder, he waited for her to wake up, to see her eyes open as if waking from a deep sleep, to see that dazed look and how her eyes focused little by little until her lips would curve into a smile.

Ayame groaned and slowly fought her way back from unconsciousness. Her eyes drifted open. She looked at him with that dazed look he knew so well, but instead of smiling, she looked panicked. She tried to get away from him, but he tightened his hold on her.

"Kichiro! Where is he?" she asked when she realized that struggling against him was no use.

Kichiro was sleeping peacefully. "Everything is fine, Ayame. Naraku is gone."

He tried to hug her, partly to comfort her and to reassure himself that she was truly here, but she scrambled away from him. He felt as if someone twisted a knife in his heart as he saw the despair and fear in her eyes.

"Ayame?" His voice came out really quiet. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what made her this way, but he knew nonetheless. He could smell it on her.

"Don't come near me. Please don't come near me." Her head shook back and forth as she hugged herself. "I don't want you to smell him on me. Please…"

She continued to beg. He felt as if his world was falling apart. He fell to his knees in front of her. He raised his hand to brush back her hair, but stopped when she flinched away from him. It was as if she'd staked him through the heart. His hand curled into a fist. It took all of his control to not touch her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She didn't hear him, or if she did, it made no difference to her. She kept on crying.

There, in that clearing devoid of life, he let her cry her heart out. Every second was torture, and he deserved it.

He had failed her.

* * *

When Ayame woke up, she was alone, but she recognized the room as Sesshomaru's. She sat up with some difficulty. Someone had washed her while she was unconscious, because there was no way she was this clean after what had happened.

She recalled everything that had happened clearly. Why couldn't she have lost her memory? Why did she have to remember?

Sesshomaru had allowed her to cry until she passed out, which she was grateful for, but she still wasn't ready to face him. Sitting there, she had no idea what she wanted to do. Her brain felt dead. She was still exhausted, but she couldn't fall back asleep. So, she just sat there, waiting for something to happen.

She wasn't sure how long had passed when Sesshomaru walked into the room. When he saw that she was awake, he paused.

"How are you feeling?" It didn't seem like he was coming any closer.

"Alive."

Silence reigned as both of them struggled to find something to say.

"So it's finally over." Ayame was the first to speak.

"Yes."

Another silence.

She didn't think she could take this. There were lots of issues between them that needed to be worked out, so why couldn't she voice them? When Sesshomaru moved toward the bed, she watched him warily. She had no idea why. It wasn't as if he would hurt her, but she couldn't help herself.

"How is Kichiro?"

"He is fine. He is sleeping."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. She forced herself to stay in place and resisted the urge to scramble away. Why was she so scared? This was Sesshomaru. This was the man, or demon, that she loved. Or did she? She had said that she hated him, but that wasn't true, was it? She didn't know anything anymore.

When he said nothing and simply waited for her to make the first move, she panicked. She tried to hide it, but he saw it nonetheless. He stood and said rather curtly, "If you need me, I'll be in the next room."

She said nothing and watched him go. When he closed the door behind him, she finally let the tears fall. She stifled her sobs, but she knew he heard. A part of her realized he was hurting just as much as she, but she had no strength to care anymore.

She wasn't sure the tears would ever stop.

* * *

She couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Naraku and felt him around her. Inside her. Even though Naraku was dead, he still stayed with her. She would never be rid of him now. His presence was spreading, slowly killing her. Lying in bed, she couldn't even be comfortable in her own skin. She wanted out, but she had no idea how.

Sesshomaru hadn't returned. She wondered if he was still in the next room. Was he sleeping, or what? She got off the bed and left the room. She hesitated outside. Should she go see him? But she wasn't ready to face him again. Seeing him would only cause both of them unnecessary pain.

She decided that a touch of fresh air would be good for her, so she went downstairs and outside to the back, where she hoped the sound of the waterfall could drown out her thoughts. But it just wasn't meant to be.

Sesshomaru was sitting under the tons of water that poured over the cliff. She knew he sensed her presence when his eyes opened. Their gazes locked. He looked years older, if that was even possible. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. She didn't wish to know it either.

She was rooted to the spot even though she wanted to leave him and return to her room. He stood up. He was still dressed fully, but now his clothes stuck to him. It was almost too painful to watch him. Two months ago she would've joined him and undress him little by little. They would make love in the pool or on the grass, but everything's changed since then.

He climbed out of the water and paused in front of her. Before she realized what he was going to do, he fell to his knees with his head bowed. She could feel the tears coming.

"Forgive me," he whispered. She barely heard the words over the rumbling of the water and before the wind carried them away.

She wished she hadn't.

He was asking for her forgiveness, this proud warrior who had never before needed anyone, who had never shown or had any weaknesses. He was on his knees beseeching her.

It was the highest honor anyone had given her.

It was also the toughest burden she had ever born.

"Please. You can't do this," she begged.

He gazed up at her. The torment in his eyes was more than she could handle.

"I didn't protect you. With all my power, I still could not protect you. Now there is nothing I can do to change what has happened."

She had no idea what to say. A part of her blamed him. Why did he go after Naraku's heart? Why couldn't he have found her in time? But a logical part of her understood his actions. She wanted to forgive him, to release him from his misery, but the words stuck in her throat, so the only thing she did was smoothing her hand over his face gently. His gaze did not waver.

I love you, she wanted to say, but once again nothing came out. She might as well have been mute. A wall had appeared between the two of them and she wasn't sure if it will ever disappear. She couldn't stand it any longer, so like a coward, she ran.

She didn't stop until she was in the safety of her room.

* * *

The next morning, Sesshomaru left his estate early. He had not slept. He could not stay that close to Ayame and not touch her or see her. Last night had been humiliating. He had thrown away everything he was to ask for her forgiveness, but she had left him without anything.

Was this the end?

He couldn't stand the thought.

No, there must be another way. He did not just save her from death only to have her leave him.

But that night, he found that was exactly what happened.

She was not there when he returned. There was a note for him on her bed. It read, "Sesshomaru, I'm going to find the last Shikon shard. Love, Ayame."

It was a bad idea. What would she do with the entire Shikon? He had a bad feeling about this.

He spared no time before following her. She'd left him an easy trail. At least she wasn't trying to hide from him.

Yet, he was too late.

* * *

**A/N: So a rather short and angst chapter. It was hard to convey the emotions b/t Sesshomaru and Ayame. I chose to use really short and terse sentences rather than long descriptive ones. I feel that this way the confusion was more poignant than me dragging on and on. This chapter hopefully is the second to last!! So it's almost over.**

**Please REVIEW!!!  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Oops, I had meant to update this yesterday, but with all that's been going on I totally forgot about it. I'm like buried in books due to midterms. So hoping ya'll will enjoy this and have a wonderful Halloween!!!!**

**Chapter Twenty**

When Ayame first began her search for the last Shikon shard, the only thing on her mind had been to get out of the castle. She had no plan whatsoever, so a few hours later she found herself wandering the forest and missing Sesshomaru.

She still couldn't believe she'd run away from him last night. He must've been furious. This morning she went to apologize, but he had already left, so she thought maybe what they needed was some time apart, as if they hadn't been apart for months.

When she was too tired to walk, she sat down against the trunk of an ancient tree. She closed her eyes and thought about the few peaceful days she'd had with Sesshomaru. Slowly, she drifted off, dreaming of better days.

She woke up some time later when it was dark. At first, she had no idea what woke her, but she was alert and awake almost instantly when she sensed someone's presence. She made no movements and waited. When a hand appeared in her vision, her hand shot out, grabbed it, and let her power surge out of her.

She was rewarded with a loud "Ouch!" When she sensed rather than saw the punch coming, she rolled away and lost her grip on the arm of her attacker. And caught sight of the mane of silver hair.

Her breath came out in a short gasp, but it wasn't who she thought it was.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hand over the Shikon shard!"

So that was how he found her. Kagome must be close, since she was the one who could sense the Shikon.

"You can come and get it."

He growled. He wasn't a dog demon for nothing. "You stink of Naraku."

Her heart dropped. If the scent was this strong for Inuyasha, just imagine what Sesshomaru must always smell whenever he was near her. She made the right choice in leaving him.

She was so lost in thought that she almost didn't see Inuyasha move. He was already in front of her when she reacted. She couldn't focus, so her power formed a barrier around her. Normally it would take a lot of her energy to surround herself in her energy, but having the almost complete Shikon with her helped.

Inuyasha leaped back and snarled. At that moment, Kagome and the rest of the gang showed up.

"Ayame!" Kagome exclaimed, shocked. "We thought you were Naraku."

"I'm not surprised, consider his scent is all over me," Ayame said rather dryly. Once she was certain Inuyasha wouldn't attack anymore, she let down the barrier.

"Why are you here alone? Where is Sesshomaru?" Miroku asked.

"I am searching for the last shard," she replied, ignoring the part about Sesshomaru. She didn't know what to tell them.

"What do you mean the last shard?"

It suddenly occurred to her that they didn't know that Naraku was gone if they thought she was Naraku. She almost laughed. How ironic! These were the ones who had fought Naraku for years, but they were the last ones to know about Naraku's death.

"Naraku is dead."

Silence reigned for a few minutes as her words registered. Ayame couldn't decide who looked more shocked among the group standing around her. Miroku was the first to recover.

"No! Impossible! I would've known!"

Miroku tore off the scarf around his hand and just stared at it for a few seconds before speaking, "It's gone."

"But how?" Kagome whispered disbelievingly.

"Sesshomaru found his heart and destroyed it," Ayame answered, leaving out all the other details they didn't need to know. "Now I have most of the Shikon. I only need one last shard." She took out the jewel and showed them. It was almost complete except for one little chip. She looked at Sango meaningfully.

"Kohaku," the youkai exterminator said. "Kohaku has the last shard."

"Yes, he does."

"No! You can't! He'll die if you take it away."

"I have to, or do you want him to live forever like that? Kept alive by the Shikon? Forever chased by demons because of what he has embedded in his shoulder?"

Sango was silent. Ayame could tell that she had spent a lot of time thinking about her younger brother.

"Let me complete the Shikon. Sesshomaru can revive Kohaku using Tenseiga."

Sango's eyes brightened. "You are sure he will do it?"

Honestly, Ayame had no idea. She didn't know Sesshomaru anymore, but she still had faith in his humanity. He would save Kohaku. "Yes. I'm sure."

"Where is he anyway? I'm surprised he let you wander around by yourself with the Shikon jewel," Kagome asked suspiciously.

"He's coming." Ayame could only hope. To change the subject, she said, mostly to Inuyasha, "But now we need to find Kohaku."

"Why are you looking at me?" he asked belligerently.

Ayame suppressed the urge to sigh. "You're the one with the nose."

"And you can sense the Shikon."

That stupid dog was pretty smart. Why didn't she think of it? Of course mainly because she was exhausted beyond belief. In her current condition she couldn't even control her measly powers much less have enough focus to search for one little shard.

"I know where he is. He is close," Kagome said and smiled at her. Kagome seemed to know that something was wrong, but she didn't ask. Ayame could only be grateful for her help.

"Let's go then."

They found Kohaku an hour later. He was resting, almost as if he was waiting for them.

"I knew you would come," Kohaku said to Ayame once they arrived. "The Shikon, you should take it."

"No!" Sango blocked her way when she moved forward.

"Sis, please. We have to do this."

Sango glanced at her beloved brother. Her pain was written clearly on her face. It broke Ayame's heart to see her like this. She wished there was some other way.

"Sesshomaru will revive him. I promise."

"Where is he? Maybe we should wait until he is here," Sango said, her decision wavering.

"He is close." Surprising, the answer came from Inuyasha, whose nose twitched.

"Please," Ayame begged. "We have to do this."

She didn't want to wait for Sesshomaru to be here. She was afraid she'd lose her courage if she saw him. She had no idea what would happen when she completes the Shikon, but it wasn't going to be anything good.

Sango moved out of the way reluctantly. Kohaku turned his back so that she could pluck out of the Shikon.

"Are you scared?" Ayame asked.

"No."

She had to give some credit to the kid. If it was her, she'd be scared out of her wits.

Slowly, ignoring the pain, she took out the Shikon from Kohaku's shoulder, who collapsed as soon as the magic left his body. Sango caught her brother and laid him on the ground gently. Ayame glanced at those around her, who all waited expectantly for her to complete the Shikon. She looked at the two separate pieces.

_This is it._

She took a deep breath and replaced the last shard. The Shikon no Tama flashed as all of its pieces fit together. It flew out of her hand and floated in the air, right in front of her. With another flash of purple light, which made the air vibrate with the power of the jewel, the Shikon no Tama was complete.

Ayame was instantly transformed out of her body. Everything around her disappeared until there was only darkness and the Shikon. Before she could panic, Midoriko appeared.

"Hello, Ayame," the priestess greeted. "You've finally reassembled the Shikon no Tama."

"Yes." Ayame paused for a second before asking, "Where am I?"

"Don't worry. It is safe here. I pulled your spirit out of your body so we can communicate. I did not want to expose myself to everyone in your dimension because without my power in the Shikon, the souls of the youkais can escape."

She had no idea everything was so complicated, but she didn't ask Midoriko to explain. "Why am I here?"

"To destroy the Shikon. It will be easier for you to do here than in your physical body.'

She hesitated, wanting to tell Midoriko that she didn't want to destroy the Shikon, but the words wouldn't form. Midoriko simply looked at her very expectantly. She calmed her nerves and took a deep breath. When her heart rate returned to normal, she tried again. "Midoriko, I don't want to destroy the Shikon no Tama."

"Why not?"

Ayame explained her decision to become a youkai so she could be with Sesshomaru. She assured Midoriko that if she used it, she would protect the Shikon, and if she was ever destroyed, she would make sure to destroy the Shikon with her.

"You cannot. If you change into a youkai, you would never be able to destroy the Shikon no Tama," Midoriko said, anger flickering across her face. "I cannot believe you would sacrifice so many lives so you can live together with a demon!"

"He is not just 'a demon'! I love him! I have a son with him! I want to be with him! I don't want to die and leave him!" As these words poured out of her, Ayame realized that they were all true. No matter what had happened between her and Sesshomaru, she still loved him. She never wanted to be apart from him. And to think that she thought they needed a break from one another! What they needed was to spend every single moment of their lives together, never apart.

"It doesn't matter if you love him! Love cannot solve everything. It certainly did not help Inuyasha and Kikyo."

Ayame let the comment pass, as she did not knew what exactly had happened between Inuyasha and Kikyo. "No, but you can help us. I know you can turn me. Haven't you ever loved someone so badly that you'd do anything to be with that person?"

The anger left Midoriko's face, replaced by a deep sorrow that only someone who had loved and lost could feel. "Yes, but that is part of the reason the Shikon exists."

"Please, Midoriko, help me. I know you don't want to continue your eternal fight with the souls of the youkais inside of the jewel, but I cannot destroy the Shikon when I need it. You can call me selfish, but I just can't destroy my one and only chance of being with Sesshomaru forever."

"You don't understand. It'd not just about you and Sesshomaru."

"What do you mean?"

"Here, I'll show you," Midoriko said and disappeared along with the Shikon.

Ayame found herself walking toward a small village. The sky was dark and covered by ominous rolling clouds. The people of the village all were in a hurry, many with bundles of bags as they left their home. As the scene unfolded before her eyes, she could only watch helplessly as people were slaughtered by marauding demons. Her heart broke at the sight, and her decision began to waver. Without a warning, the scene changed, and she was thrust into another world where she could neither help nor run and could only watch until she was begging for Midoriko to stop.

The sky was blood red, rumbling with thunder and lightning streaking from one cloud to another. The land was jugged and barren. It strangely reminded her of the Fire Realm. Distantly, she heard the sound of earthquakes. There was no plant or humans for as far as the eye could see. Instead, youkais roamed the land. They were fighting and eating each other, maybe due to the scarcity of other food sources.

_This is the way the world will become if you do not destroy the Shikon no Tama_, Midoriko said in her mind.

_What about me? Where are Sesshomaru and Kichiro?_

Immediately, the scene in front of her changed again. This time, her surroundings were normal. The sky was blue. There were plants and human inhabitants. There were youkais as well, but they were living side by side with the humans. Slowly, she walked forward, but stopped dead when she came upon Sesshomaru's castle.

Confused, she simply stood there, not sure about what to do. Now that she observed more closely, she realized that she was still in the same world, the same realm, but simply inside a place that was protected by a barrier so that outsiders could not come in. Someone must've been really strong to set up a barrier such as this, where the grass could grow and even the clouds from outside couldn't penetrate.

_Go inside and see._

She did. Everything was much the same, but also different. The halls were dark and gloomy, reminding her of Naraku's castle. It was too quiet, like there was no one inside.

_Where is Kichiro? What happened to Rin?_

She walked faster, her feet leading her somewhere even though she had no idea where she was headed.

She opened the door to what she knew was the library. It looked the same, except the entire wall opposite of the door was empty of shelves. Instead, in its place was an altar of some sort. Sesshomaru stood in front of it, his back facing her.

"Sesshomaru-sama, the army is ready." Majeh walked through her and into the room, addressing Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru turned. He looked as handsome as ever, but he also looked tired, world-weary, and lonely.

"Let's go." His power and determination filled the room, but his eyes were filled with sorrow, a scar that nothing could take away.

They left the room quickly. Ayame walked up to the altar, already knowing what she would see and whom it was for.

As she guessed, the altar was made for her. There was a painting of her, one that resembled her very much. She was somewhat surprised. Who could've drawn this? Besides her painting were two elegantly carved candles. In front of it were offerings, with her favorite fruits.

She blinked back the tears. Sesshomaru was so thoughtful, even after she'd left him. How could she subject him to a life like this? If he loved her so much, she could only imagine the pain he'd feel without her beside him. Yet, he couldn't leave this world with her because he had to lead the fight against whoever had killed her and turned this world into a living hell.

_Who? Show me. Show me who it is that will kill me._

Midoriko said nothing, but the scene changed around Ayame again. She was outside of the barrier in the barren land again. She turned her attention to the battle that was unfolding before her eyes. The army of the enemy covered up the entire sky and ground for as far as she could see. However, Sesshomaru probably only had about several thousand fighters with him. Yet, they all resembled humans, so they were much stronger and excellent warriors compared to the demons from the other side.

"You finally came out of your hiding hole, Father."

Ayame's head jerked to the voice and saw the man that very much looked like Sesshomaru, except he was evil. The stench of it made her back away from him, even though she was only a spirit. However, she would recognize him even if he did not call Sesshomaru "Father."

It was Kichiro. He was a full-blooded demon. _So he used the Shikon for himself._ The knowledge was like a punch to the gut. Her son would one day kill her and take the Shikon for his own use if she does not destroy the Shikon no Tama.

Her chest felt like it was being torn into a thousand pieces as she watched the fight. Because of her selfishness, Sesshomaru and Kichiro would fight to the death, father versus son.

_Stop! I've seen enough!_

Instantly, everything disappeared and she was back in the darkness, facing Midoriko and the Shikon.

"Now do you understand? Leaving the Shikon in this world would only cause pain," Midoriko said quietly, the sadness in her eyes reflected in hers.

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"No, but things will likely turn out that way. There are so many ways that things can go wrong. Will you risk it?"

"Why would Kichiro turn out that way? I won't let him. He won't grow up to hate me or his father."

"There is darkness in him, as there is in his father and in all youkais. He is also extremely powerful. Like Inuyasha, you and Sesshomaru will have to find some way to seal his full power. But like I said, there are thousands of ways things can play out. Even if he does not hate his parents or even crave the Shikon, there are other things that will trigger his darkness."

Ayame felt like there was something else Midoriko was not telling her, but she didn't care. She didn't care about the future, only the present. "But you can stop it, right? Like you're doing with me! You don't have to convert him!"

Midoriko shook her head sadly. "No. With you, since we share the same soul, I am stronger than the youkais that are trapped inside the jewel. However, with Kichiro, the youkais would be dominant over me. I can do nothing to stop Kichiro from using the Shikon."

Ayame ran out of objections. The scenes she witnessed came back to haunt her. What made her really crumble inside was that crushed look on Sesshomaru's face. Not only would he lose her in the future, but he would have to fight his son, whom he loves as well.

How could she not destroy the Shikon, knowing what might happen?

"How do I destroy it?" she asked after making her decision.

"By destroying it, you will forfeit your life."

Well, somehow she had already expected that. The choice was always there: either die now or later. It was all up to her. "Sesshomaru will not be able to revive me, will he?"

"No. Tenseiga stops the messengers of the dead from taking the soul of a deceased person, but by destroying the Shikon, our soul will disappear from this world. It will scatter, become part of the earth. There will never be another with our soul."

Tears streaked down her face. She will never see Sesshomaru again, because she will never be reborn into this world.

_He will find another. After all, he is immortal._

That thought both comforted and grieved her, but at least he will not be alone with the weight of world on his shoulder. As for her, if some part of her spirit remains, she would follow Sesshomaru wherever he goes in the future.

"I want to see him one last time. Please."

For the first time, Midoriko looked troubled. "He will not let you do this."

"He cannot stop me, Midoriko. It is my choice, has always been my choice, and I have made it. Seeing him will not change it."

"Very well." Midoriko sighed and waved her hand. Ayame found herself back in her body again. For a moment she was worried about how to find Sesshomaru, but she needn't have worried. He was there, holding her in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she cried. She buried her head against his shoulder, knowing that this would be the last time she held him.

After getting over his initial shock, Sesshomaru's arms came around her. His hand brushed her hair soothingly even as he wondered why she was apologizing. He had been furious and worried when finding her gone from the castle, but all his anger left him when he saw her collapsed on the ground a few minutes ago. For a second he had thought that he'd lost her again.

Slowly, Ayame pulled away from Sesshomaru. He didn't stop her as she stepped away from him. "I'm going to destroy the Shikon," she said, staring at him in the eye.

"Why?" Sesshomaru's golden eyes searched her face, hoping for an answer he could understand. She had no idea that her one sentence had completely destroyed him.

"I will die even with the Shikon no Tama. Someone else will take the jewel and the people will suffer, including you."

"No one will hurt you. I won't allow it."

She refrained from pointing out that he hadn't been able to stop Naraku. That would be too cruel, but from the way he flinched after speaking those words, she knew the same thoughts had occurred to him.

"It is our only chance of being together forever," Sesshomaru begged for one last time.

_Destroy it. The Shikon will only cause pain and suffering to those it comes in contact with._ Midoriko's voice was clear and crisp in her mind.

_How? Tell me how to destroy it. _She didn't want to leave Sesshomaru. She desperately wished she had another chance with him, but this was the end.

_Channel your power into the Shikon. I will help you from the inside. It will explode into pieces. All the souls of the youkais will be freed at that point. You must be ready to join with me. At that moment, we will be strong enough to purify those souls using every last bit of our power._

Ayame breathed in Sesshomaru's scent until it filled all of her senses. She would remember him and the time she'd spent with him no matter what she becomes after destroying the Shikon no Tama. Using a small amount of her power, she pushed Sesshomaru away and set up a barrier around her before anyone else could move.

She looked at him for one last time and whispered, "I love you."

She took hold of the Shikon no Tama and sent all of her power into it like Midoriko had instructed. Instantly, she felt the response from within the jewel. In a burst of blinding light, the Shikon no Tama exploded into a thousand pieces again, but the physical substance completely disappeared. When the light dissipated enough for her to see, all the souls of the youkais were in front of her, glaring at her with hatred.

At once, a warm feeling filled her entire being as Midoriko merged with her. Together, they became a giant sphere of blinding white light that swept through the army of youkais, leaving nothing but glitters behind as they purified their souls. It only took a few seconds before all the youkais disappeared. It was much easier than she had thought, but she could feel herself disappearing, withering away from this world.

She glanced around and saw that Sesshomaru and the others were still there. Their eyes were trained at where she stood, but they couldn't see her or the Shikon no Tama. Knowing that these were her last few moments, she went over to Sesshomaru.

She raised her hand to caress his cheek, but it passed through him. However, Sesshomaru lifted a hand and brushed her cheeks.

"I love you," he whispered.

Even though he couldn't see her, he must've somehow sensed that she was there. The terrible sorrow gripped her against as she wept for the future that they would never have. For the son who would not have a mother. And for Sesshomaru who would again be alone in this world.

_I don't want to leave him,_ she thought as she felt her own existence disappear. Everything was starting to blur together. She had to fight to retain her sense of self. Her feelings were starting to disappear, including the sorrow that still connected her to the physical world.

_Let it go. Everything will be all right._ Midoriko's voice was fading away along with the rest of the world.

_But I… _She took one last look at Sesshomaru, who was fading away as well.

_I love you. Please forgive me. _Those were her last thoughts before her existence was wiped away.

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**A/N: Just one more chapter to go!!! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**PS. Anyone watching Inuyasha Final Act?  
**


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Watch out!"

Inuyasha jumped away just in time before he was smashed under a giant paw.

"Damn it, Sesshomaru! Get a hold on yourself!" Inuyasha shouted as he landed on a tree branch. He glared at the giant dog demon that was his brother as he drew out Tetsusaiga. "Or I'm going to cut off your arm again!"

As always, the only answer he got was an outraged roar, but he hadn't expected anything else. Sesshomaru completely lost it when Ayame disappeared a week ago. He had turned into his demon form. Ever since then, Inuyasha, Kagome, and the others had kept Sesshomaru at bay, preventing him from going on a crazy rampage that would destroy humans and demons alike.

It had worked well so far, but Inuyasha was sick of it. He was tempted to kill this stupid brother of his. It was probably what Sesshomaru wanted, so that he could join Ayame in the afterlife or something.

"Kagome, get away from here!" Inuyasha shouted when poison started coming out of the TaiYoukai's mouth.

"Don't worry about us!" Kagome yelled up at him. Apparently Miroku had set up a barrier protecting them from the poison.

Another roar pierced the air as Sesshomaru leaped in the air, passing where Inuyasha was and heading toward the east.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere!"

Inuyasha leaped from tree to tree chasing Sesshomaru. "Kaze no Kizu!" he shouted when he was close enough.

The attack caught Sesshomaru's attention instantly. He whirled back and headed to Inuyasha.

"Why don't we just end this?" Inuyasha said as he raised his sword. "Kongosoha!"

The sharp spears shot forth from his sword like bullets. Sesshomaru didn't move an inch from his spot. Inuyasha was then certain that Sesshomaru was waiting for this moment, but just before the spears reached Sesshomaru, a purple energy beam came out of the forest below, shattering the diamond spears.

Shocked, Inuyasha looked down. Sesshomaru snarled toward whatever was in the forest below them.

"No, it can't be…"

* * *

_Sesshomaru…_

The voice barely penetrated the haze of madness that had become his being since Ayame disappeared from this world. He was left with nothing. He didn't even have a body to remember her by.

She was just gone.

_Sesshomaru…_

This time, he recognized her voice. No. He must be hearing things. But why now? After so long, why was he imagining her voice? The red haze covering his vision started to fade.

_Sesshomaru, please, it's me._

The fog covering his eyes suddenly disappeared. Sesshomaru felt as if he'd been jerked awake from a bad dream. He knew that voice. More importantly, he knew that scent. He looked down, and there she was, but it wasn't really her… Her eyes had turned red. There were two red strips on each of her cheeks. Her long golden hair flowed down her back, but he could see her pointy years.

She was a youkai, just like him.

No, but she was still Ayame. Her eyes, despite the different color, held the same love and warmth as before.

It was definitely Ayame.

He felt whole again. The madness was gone in an instant. All he felt was completion.

He descended, transforming as he went, until he was back in his human form once he stopped in front of her. His eyes closed with relief and pleasure as she stroked his cheek with her hand.

Once that momentary pleasure passed, he crushed her to him. It was really her. Everything about her felt right.

She was back!

Neither of them noticed that Inuyasha was gone. She clung to him as she kept whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

He pulled back, but just far enough so that he could cup her face with his hands and kiss her. He didn't care what happened before. As long as she was back, he was happy.

She kissed him back, craving the same intimacy as he was, but once again, he pulled back.

"It's really you," he said with wonder. "But how?"

"You," was her simple answer. "Because I love you, a demon, I can't destroy the Shikon."

There were no words to describe the relief that filled his entire being as he realized the Shikon will never take her away from him.

"I love you." The words poured out of him. He was afraid he would never have the chance to say those words to her again. He hugged her tightly. "I'll never let go of you again," he vowed.

"No. This is for eternity."

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**A/N: OMG OMG!!! I can't believe I've finally finished this!!!!! *dances around in her room* lol**

**Thank you for everyone that has supported me all these years!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!!! *hugs and kisses***

**Please REVIEW and leave your last comments on the story!!!!**

**Yours truly,**

**Yohina  
**


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